


The Profiler and the Nurse: Book One

by ahowell1993



Series: Spencer Reid/Clarissa Hotchner series [1]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Autistic Spencer Reid, Eventual Cannon, F/M, Fluff, Grief/Mourning, Hotch has two siblings, Minor Character Death, Orphan Spencer, Out of Character Moments, Secret Marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-05-17 21:26:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 48
Words: 194,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14839463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ahowell1993/pseuds/ahowell1993
Summary: Prequel to The Profiler and the Nurse. 19 year old Spencer Reid receives some heartbreaking news, and two days later he meets Clarissa Hotchner who instantly helps Spencer cope over his guardians deaths before they become more than friends while Clarissa's connections helps Spencer start his path to the BAU. AU Spencer's not at risk for schizophrenia. Orginally posted on Fanfiction.





	1. First Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> I posted this on Fanfiction and I finally decided to get an account here with the same username I use on Fanfiction. I'll slowly be adding chapters of my completed story and inprogress sequel here, so please be patient.

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

I have it that Spencer decided to go to Yale instead of Cal-tech.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was getting ready for his morning lectures when there was a knock on the door of his dorm. A minute later he saw his academic adviser with a police officer who both had grim faces.

"Did I do anything wrong officer?" asked Spencer.

"May I please come in?" asked Officer Benson.

"Sure." said Spencer.

A few seconds later Spencer was sitting across from Officer Benson who introduced himself.

"At three AM your aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon were killed by a drunk driver while they were driving back from New York City." said Officer Benson.

At that moment Spencer fell onto his pillows while bursting into tears as Officer Benson looked at Spencer's academic adviser.

"Is there anyone I can call for him?" asked Officer Benson.

"He has a cousin living in Atlanta, Georgia and an aunt residing in Bennington Sanitarium in his hometown Las Vegas," said Dr. Steven Richards.

"What about a girlfriend?" asked Officer Benson as his heart broke for the young man.

"No, but I'm already planning on helping him plan the funerals and have him go to mandatory grief counseling." said Dr. Richards.

Officer Benson pulled out his card and passed it to Dr. Richards.

"If he needs anything please call me." said Officer Benson.

"Thank you." said Dr. Richards as he looked at the young man who cried himself to sleep.

A minute later Office Benson let himself out, and Dr. Richards used the phone to call Spencer's professors and let them know that Spencer won't be attending classes for awhile.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two days later Spencer was sitting on a bench with tears streaming down his face while looking at a picture of him with his aunt and uncle after he earned his first PhD when he heard a female voice.

"You alright?" asked a young woman.

Spencer looked up and saw a girl around his age.

"My aunt and uncle who raised me since I became an orphan at four, passed away two days ago in a car accident." said Spencer as he wiped a tear from his face.

"I lost my father when I was five and my mom at 17." said the girl as she sat down next to Spencer.

"I'm Spencer Reid." said Spencer.

"I'm Clarissa Hotchner, and you look like you could use a friend." said Clarissa as her cellphone rang and she answered it, "Hello?" asked Clarissa.

"Where are you Clarissa? I have been waiting for you for the past 10 minutes." said Hotch.

"Right now I am talking to a boy around my age who just lost his adoptive parents a few days ago, and I don't want to leave him alone since he is grieving." said Clarissa softly.

"Well bring him with you if you want to help cheer him up." said Hotch before hanging up.

Clarissa looked at Spencer who pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Come join my older brother and I for lunch, Spencer. Don't argue because I don't want leave you alone right now." said Clarissa as she held out her hand for Spencer to take.

Spencer took Clarissa's hand as he got up before following her to her car. A few minutes later Clarissa looked at the young man in her passenger seat.

"How long have you been attending Yale?" asked Clarissa.

"Since I was 12. My aunt and uncle moved here with me when I decided to attend Yale," said Spencer.

"And you're like 18?" asked Clarissa.

"I just turned 19 less than two months ago." said Spencer.

"I'm turning 19 in two weeks. But if you have been attending college since you were 12, you must be a genius." said Clarissa.

"I am." said Spencer.

"So how smart are you?" asked Clarissa who was impressed.

"I have an IQ of 187, an eidetic memory, and a reading speed of 20,000 words per minute." said Spencer while looking at Clarissa.

"Cool." said Clarissa.

"You're not intimidated?" asked Spencer.

"I'm not because I graduated high school as valedictorian in my class, and I am studying to become a nurse." said Clarissa.

"As of right now I have a PhD in Mathematics, and I am almost finished with my second PhD." said Spencer.

"What is your second PhD going to be in?" asked Clarissa.

"Engineering since I already have BAs in Engineering and Chemistry." said Spencer.

"So you're the math and science type of guy." said Clarissa.

"Pretty much." said Spencer.

"Learning about the human body in school is the reason why I wanted to become a nurse because my dad died from cancer." said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Clarissa pulled up into a parking lot for a diner and looked at Spencer.

"Come with me." said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer was sitting in a booth with Clarissa and Aaron Hotchner.

"Aaron Hotchner." said Aaron as he held out his hand for Spencer to shake, "And I'm so sorry about your loss."

"Thank you, and I'm Dr. Spencer Reid, but please call me Spencer." said Spencer.

"You look way too young to be a doctor." said Hotch.

Spencer quietly explained his IQ, memory, and reading speed to his new friend's older brother.

"Impressive." said Aaron.

"Thank you." said Spencer before looking at the suit that Hotch was wearing while noticing a gun hidden behind Hotch's suit jacket, "You work for the government?"

At that moment Hotch looked a bit impressed.

"I'm a profiler for the Behavioral Analysis Unit down in Quantico, Virginia." said Aaron.

Spencer smiled a bit since he heard about the BAU.

"Do you work for Jason Gideon or have ever worked with David Rossi?" asked Spencer.

"I've worked with both men, and how do you know their names?" asked Aaron.

"I read David Rossi's latest book, and I attended Agent Gideon's lecture two months ago." said Spencer.

"And you didn't think of approaching him?" asked Aaron.

"I was late for my next lecture, and I didn't know if I could join the FBI since I have no experience with law enforcement." said Spencer.

"How old are you?" asked Aaron.

"19 sir." said Spencer.

"The FBI is always looking for academics since they can use more brains than brawn, and maybe in a few years you could join since the FBI can always use someone with your intelligence." said Aaron.

"Let's just say that I have been approached by the CIA and NSA already due to my intelligence, and I don't want to do the CIA but the NSA is tempting." said Spencer.

"I can't blame them for wanting someone as smart as you, and as soon as the FBI Director finds out about you he will want to have you recruited." said Aaron as he made a mental note to send word to the Director about meeting Spencer.

Spencer smiled thoughtfully at Aaron's comment just as a waitress approached them.

"May I take your orders now?" asked a waitress.

Spencer, Clarissa, and Aaron gave their orders, and as soon as the waitress left, Aaron looked at Spencer.

"How long ago did your aunt and uncle die?" asked Aaron.

"Two days ago, and my academic adviser is helping me with funeral preparations while having me talk to a counselor." said Spencer.

"Cause of death?" asked Aaron.

"They were hit by a drunk driver, and the drunk driver didn't make it." said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at Spencer.

"When is the funeral?" asked Clarissa.

"In two days." said Spencer.

At that moment Clarissa made her decision.

"Like I told you that since you look like you need a friend, I'm going to come to the funeral so I can support you." said Clarissa.

Spencer was about to protest when Aaron looked at Spencer.

"Better not argue with my baby sister because she doesn't back down on any decisions that she makes." said Aaron.

Spencer sighed in defeat, and a few minutes later their food arrived causing all three adults to eat and Aaron looked at his little sister.

"Just so you know Haley, Jason, Sean, and I will be here for your birthday in two weeks." said Aaron.

"I can't wait." said Clarissa before looking at Spencer who looked like he was feeling out of place, "You're welcome to join us."

"I don't want to intrude on your family gathering." said Spencer.

"If my sister-in-law, Sean, uncle Jason find out that I finally made a friend on campus, they're gonna want to meet you." said Clarissa.

Aaron looked at Spencer.

"And the Jason I mentioned is Jason Gideon, and he would be glad to meet you." said Aaron.

"I guess I will come." shrugged Spencer before dipping a French fry in ketchup and popped it into his mouth.

After eating for a few more minutes in silence, Aaron's phone rang and a minute later he looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"I have to get going." said Aaron as he pulled out a business card, "If you need someone to talk to or need anything, please give me a call."

Spencer took the card.

"Thank you." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were sitting alone in their booth, and Clarissa looked at Spencer.

"What's one of your favorite TV shows?" asked Clarissa.

"Star Trek." said Spencer.

"Awesome." grinned Clarissa.

"You're a fan?" asked Spencer.

"I am and I also love Star Wars." said Clarissa.

"Me too." said Spencer.

Spencer and Clarissa started talking about their hometowns and what led them to attending Yale, and when they were leaving the diner Clarissa looked at Spencer.

"I think we're going to be great friends Spencer." said Clarissa as she smiled at Spencer before reciting her cellphone number, causing Spencer to commit it to memory before giving her his number.


	2. Packing and a Funeral

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a heads up that Diana Reid didn't have schizophrenia, but she had Asperger's syndrome that Spencer ended up inheriting from her.

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

At 2:30 PM the next day Spencer was heading to the bus stop when Clarissa ran towards him despite the two inches of snow that was on the sidewalk.

"Where are you going Spencer?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer stopped walking so Clarissa could meet up with him.

"I have to start going through the house I lived in because I'm selling it." said Spencer.

"Would you like me to help you?" asked Clarissa.

"Only if you're not busy." said Spencer.

"I have no plans for the rest of the day." said Clarissa.

"You can help." said Spencer.

Clarissa grabbed Spencer's gloved hand and started pulling him into the direction of her car.

"Let's take my car instead of the bus." said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

15 minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were removing their hats, winter jackets, and boots in the foyer of the three bedroom and two bath house and Clarissa looked around.

"This is a nice place." said Clarissa.

"Thank you." said Spencer as he padded over to the thermostat to check the heat before switching it on, "There's soda in the kitchen." said   
Spencer as he headed into the kitchen with Clarissa trailing behind him.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were going through Ethel's and Gordon's bedroom putting Ethel's clothing into garbage bags so Spencer could donate them to Goodwill, and after Ethel's clothes were bagged up Clarissa saw Spencer going through his uncle's clothes and started to make two piles.

"I'm keeping some of my uncle's clothes since he's nearly the same size as me, and I'm getting close to needing some new clothes so I can easily grow into them, meaning that I will save money on new clothes." said Spencer as he looked at the trousers that belonged to his uncle and pointed at the pile of the clothes that he's going to donate, "Those clothes are going to Goodwill."

"Don't you have a job?" asked Clarissa as she started to help Spencer pack up his uncle's clothes.

"After earning my my PhD in mathematics, I became a teaching assistant to earn some spending money since I can't access the trust fund that my aunt and uncle started after my parents died until I'm 21." said Spencer.

"So what are you going to do with the money you receive after selling this house?" asked Clarissa.

"My uncle's lawyer insisted that I put the money into the trust fund, and with the degrees that I'm planning on earning I should be finished with college by the time I'm 21." said Spencer.

"So you will be using all that money to help you settle in where ever you move to." said Clarissa.

"That's the plan, and with the money I have available in the trust fund I can easily buy a house instead of an apartment." said Spencer.

Spencer and Clarissa started to work in silence while Spencer made a keep or donate pile, and an hour later Spencer's stomach growled, causing the two young adults to look at the time.

"It's already 5:30 PM." said Spencer.

"We should definitely take a dinner break." said Clarissa.

A minute later Spencer and Clarissa were in the kitchen, and Spencer smiled to himself when he saw ingredients that weren't expired or spoiled to make tacos.

"Do you know how to cook?" asked Spencer.

"I do, but what about you?" asked Clarissa.

"My aunt taught me how to cook, and I enjoyed helping her cook meals when I was a child." said Spencer.

"Then let's cook together." said Clarissa as she moved to the sink to wash her hands, causing Spencer to follow suit.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were either cooking the meat or chopping up vegetables while they talked about their happy childhood memories, and before they knew it they were sitting at the kitchen island eating their tacos.

"With your cooking skills was your aunt a chef?" asked Clarissa as she took a sip of her soda.

"She worked for a catering business, and when we went to Mass every Sunday she would bake cookies and brownies for the kids." said Spencer.

"So the funeral is happening where you attend Mass?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer's face saddened as he realized that in less than 24 hours he will have to say goodbye to his aunt and uncle.

"Yes." said Spencer.

"Do you know when you're returning to your classes?" asked Clarissa.

"I'm excused from my classes until exams before winter break, and I'm not falling behind because my professors are taping their classes and sending me the assignments." said Spencer.

Clarissa glared at her backpack that she brought into the house with her.

"Sometimes I can't understand my chemistry homework." said Clarissa.

"At least you're in the room with someone who already has a BA in chemistry." said Spencer.

"So you're willing to help me?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes, but I'm not doing your homework since I had enough of that in high school." said Spencer.

Clarissa grinned at Spencer, and Spencer felt his stomach fluttering.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile in Quantico, Virginia, Hotch opened up Google on his computer and typed in the name Dr. Spencer Reid. His eyes went wide when he saw news articles about Spencer's parents being killed by a drunk driver when he was four, graduating high school at 12, earning his BAs and first PhD, his dissertations, and papers that he already published. He was so focused on reading one of Spencer's papers when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"What are you reading, Hotch?" asked Gideon.

"Clarissa made a new friend the other day, but I'd rather tell you in your office." said Hotch.

"OK." said Gideon.

A minute later Hotch told Gideon about how he met Spencer Reid, what he knew about Spencer's family and IQ, memory, what he had for degrees, papers that he already published, and what degrees he was working on. When he was almost finished he looked at Gideon.

"He has already been approached by the CIA, NSA, other government agencies, private sectors, various universities despite being only 19 years old." said Hotch.

"What degrees is he planning on earning?" asked Gideon.

"He mentioned that he has interest in studying psychology and sociology after finishing up his PhD in engineering and earning a PhD in Chemistry because he's able to work on degrees very quickly." said Hotch.

"Have you asked him what he has considered doing when he finishes college?" asked Gideon.

"Spencer has interest in joining the FBI when he's older, and I'm not sure if he can handle waiting until he's at the minimum age limit for recruitment." said Hotch.

"Based on you mentioning that he has been approached with job offers from other government agencies I will definitely get started on seeing if the age requirement can be waived." said Gideon.

"Thank you." said Hotch.

"Thinking that Spencer might be interested in your baby sister?" asked Gideon.

"I think so. They were giving each other shy smiles and glances, and if they do become a couple, I would approve Dr. Reid dating my baby sister," said Hotch.

"I definitely want to meet this young man when we go up to New Haven for Clarissa's birthday." said Gideon.

"He attended your lecture two months ago, and he quickly left since he was running late for his next class." said Hotch.

"What did he look like?" asked Gideon.

Hotch started describing what Spencer looked like, and when he was finished Gideon looked at him.

"I remember him since he was asking some interesting questions, and I tried to find him after the lecture to ask him if he ever considered joining the FBI, but he was long gone." said Gideon.

"Clarissa invited him to her birthday dinner so you will get to meet him since this is her very first friend since starting at Yale a few months ago." said Hotch.

"I can't wait." said Gideon.

Hotch looked at the clock and saw that it was already 6:30 PM.

"Haley should be back from her mom's now, so I am going to head home since I haven't seen her in a few days." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Three hours later Clarissa was sitting in her private dorm working on her homework when her cellphone rang and she saw that it was her oldest brother.

"Hi Aaron." said Clarissa.

"Haley and I are on speaker." said Hotch.

"Hi Haley." said Clarissa.

"Aaron told me that you made a new friend and I want you to tell me about him." said Haley.

Clarissa started telling her sister in law about Spencer, and when she was finished she decided to ask them something.

"Spencer doesn't have anyone to celebrate Christmas with, and I don't want him to spend it alone. I was thinking about having him come down to DC with me." said Clarissa.

"I take it that you developed a crush on him since Aaron mentioned that you invited him to join in on your birthday dinner." teased Haley.

"Well he's hot in a geeky way, and I think being friends for now is a good idea since he's grieving over his aunt and uncle, but my New Years resolution for next year is that if he doesn't ask me out I will ask him out myself." said Clarissa.

"I think that's a great idea." said Haley.

"So what did you do after classes today?" asked Hotch.

"I actually helped Spencer start packing up the house he lived in for the past seven years, and when we were both hungry we made tacos together before he helped me understand my chemistry homework." said Clarissa before she started to talk about her classes.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day Spencer was greeting his aunt's and uncle's coworkers and accepting a few condolences from some of his professors who have gotten to know his aunt and uncle over the years. His eyes went wide when he saw Clarissa last in line to greet him, and when it was her turn to be greeted, she instantly pulled him into a hug.

"I told you that I would come." said Clarissa.

"Thank you." said Spencer before looking nervously at Clarissa, "Would you mind sitting next to me in the front row?"

"Certainly." said Clarissa as she squeezed Spencer's shoulder before reaching out to fix his tie and the lapels of his suit jacket.

A minute later Spencer and Clarissa were sitting in the front pew of the church when the priest started the service, and Spencer nervously reached for Clarissa's hand.

"I hope that it's OK." whispered Spencer.

"It's OK." whispered Clarissa.

A short while later the priest looked at the mourners in the room.

"Now I will have Ethel and Gordon Tucker's adoptive son Spencer Reid come up here and say a few words about his aunt and uncle." said the priest

Clarissa squeezed Spencer's hand before he slowly got up and walked to the front of the church. He took a small glance to the two urns that contained his aunt and uncle's ashes before he looked at the friends and coworkers of his aunt and uncle.

"Aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon took me in after my biological parents died in a car crash when I was four years old. It wasn't easy for them to raise a genius with an IQ of 187, an eidetic memory, and a reading speed of 20,000 words per minute, but they made sure to challenge me while making sure I got to interact with peers my age despite graduating high school when I was 12 before moving out here as a family so I could attend Yale." said Spencer as he wiped a tear before continuing, "When I was growing up with my aunt and uncle, aunt Ethel would always complain about how fast my hair grows."

A few of the mourners who remembered how Ethel was about the length of her nephew's hair chuckled before Spencer continued.

"My uncle Gordon would tell me happy childhood memories that he had with my mom who was a 15th century literature by reading me all of my mother's books despite being a fan of science fiction. Aunt Ethel would complain about how my uncle and I could be as thick as thieves most of the time, but I did love my aunt and uncle since they raised me as one of their own since they couldn't have kids." said Spencer.  
Two minutes later Spencer finished up the speech he had came up with, and he sat back down next to Clarissa who was wiping a tear.

"That was beautiful." whispered Clarissa.

"Thank you." said Spencer.

At that moment Spencer and Clarissa listened to a family friend who had made his way all the way from Las Vegas.


	3. Clarissa Turns 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clarissa was born on December 15th of 1981

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was pacing in his dorm thinking about what to get Clarissa for her birthday, then suddenly came up with the idea of contacting Clarissa's oldest brother.

"Hotchner." answered Hotch as he looked at the unfamiliar number.

"Sir, this is Dr. Spencer Reid calling." said Spencer.

"How are you doing Spencer?" asked Hotch.

"I'm doing better even though it's been two weeks, and your sister has been very supportive since meeting her 12 days ago." said Spencer.

"She's happy to finally make a friend on campus who isn't afraid of my career." said Hotch.

"My uncle Gordon was a police officer so I'm used to being around law enforcement." said Spencer.

"Clarissa did mention that there were a lot of uniforms at the funeral." said Hotch before adding, "So what can I do for you?"

"I'm thinking about getting Clarissa her favorite flowers for her birthday tomorrow, and I'm asking you for your blessing to ask her to be my girlfriend." said Spencer.

"You definitely have my blessing since she has mentioned how comfortable she is around you, and her favorite flowers are yellow roses. Are you coming to the dinner tomorrow?" asked Hotch.

"I am." said Spencer.

"Well my lunch break is just about over, and I will see you at Clarissa's birthday diner." said Hotch.

"If you talk to Clarissa before arriving tomorrow, please don't tell her that I got your blessing to ask her to be my girlfriend." said Spencer.

"I promise." said Hotch.

"Thank you, and I will see you tomorrow." said Spencer before hanging up.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day Spencer was standing outside the girl's dorm waiting for Clarissa with a bouquet of yellow roses, and a few minutes later she came outside and smiled when she saw Spencer.

"Hi Spencer." smiled Clarissa.

"Happy birthday Clarissa." said Spencer as he nervously handed her the roses.

"Thank you, and these are my favorite flowers." grinned Clarissa as she kissed Spencer on the cheek, causing the young man to blush.

"I called your older brother and asked him what your favorite flowers are." said Spencer.

"That's very sweet of you." said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were in Clarissa's car, and 15 minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were entering a pizzeria where Hotch, Haley, Gideon, and Sean were already waiting.

"Happy birthday Clarissa." said Hotch as he hugged his younger sister before turning to Spencer and shook his hand, "It's nice to see you again, Spencer."

"You too, sir." said Spencer as he watched Clarissa being given hugs.

"Please call me Aaron or you can call me Hotch like a bunch of my teammates do." said Hotch.

"Hotch will do." said Spencer.

A minute later Spencer, Clarissa, and Hotch were sitting down and Clarissa looked at Spencer.

"Spencer, I would like you to meet my sister-in-law Haley." said Clarissa.

"How do you do." said Spencer quietly as he shook hands with Haley.

"I'm sorry for you loss, Spencer." said Haley.

"Thank you Mrs. Hotchner." said Spencer quietly.

"Please call me Haley." said Haley.

Clarissa then looked at Sean.

"My older brother Sean who's a year older than you." said Clarissa.

"Hi." said Spencer as he shook hands with Sean.

"Sorry for your loss." said Sean.

"Thank you." said Spencer.

Then finally Clarissa looked at Gideon.

"Finally, my oldest brother's boss, Jason Gideon." said Clarissa.

Spencer finally shook hands with Gideon.

"Sir, it's a huge honor to meet you. I'm a fan of your published work and I attended your lecture 70 days ago." said Spencer as he nervously pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"I'm sorry for your loss Dr. Reid, and I did notice you at the lecture since I was planning on approaching you." said Gideon.

"I was late for my next lecture." said Spencer.

At that moment a waitress came over and started taking orders, and a few minutes later Spencer was sipping a soda when Gideon looked at him.

"By chance is your late uncle Lieutenant Gordon Tucker?" asked Gideon.

"The very one." said Spencer.

"He once mentioned you when I worked with him a year ago, and I enjoyed working with him." said Gideon.

"Luckily when it came to him being a police officer, he had no problem transferring to a police department here in New Haven because he told me that he was willing to move wherever I picked going to college." said Spencer.

"So what led you to attending my lecture?" asked Gideon.

"After being approached by the CIA a third time, uncle Gordon was the one to recommend that I should attend your lecture." said Spencer.

"I did some research on you after Aaron told me about you, and after talking to the Director, he mentioned that he already knew that a lot of government agencies have been showing interest in you because you have been gaining media attention since graduating high school." said Gideon.

"The FBI has been showing interest in me?" asked Spencer.

"They already have, especially me, and if you're interested in joining the FBI, the Director will want you to wait until you're 21 to apply so you're at legal drinking age." said Gideon.

"Really?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, and you have nearly two years to think about it." said Gideon.

"I will think about it, but first I want to finish my current PhD in engineering before working on a few additional degrees that I'm planning." said Spencer.

Sean looked at Spencer.

"Speaking of college, what fun stuff do you like to do outside of college classes and completing homework?" asked Sean.

"Doing magic tricks and reading." said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at Spencer.

"Can you please show us one?" asked Clarissa as she gave Spencer a pleading look.

"Sure." said Spencer as he hoped that his plan on how he would ask Clarissa out would work.

He pulled out a deck of cards and held out the cards to Clarissa.

"Pick a card any card." said Spencer.

Clarissa picked a card to memorize before following Spencer's instructions to put it back into the deck, and near the end of the card trick Spencer held out a card.

"Is this your card?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa glanced at the card and her blue eyes went wide when she saw the card say EVEN THOUGH WE'VE KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR TWO WEEKS, WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE MY GIRLFRIEND?

"That's not my card, but I say yes to being your girlfriend." said Clarissa, causing Haley to gasp as Clarissa looked at Spencer, "So where's that card?"

Spencer looked at Hotch.

"Check the pocket of your suit jacket." said Spencer.

Hotch checked the pocket and held up the card, causing Haley and Clarissa to gasp.

"How did you do that?" asked both women at once.

"A magician never reveals his secrets." said Spencer causing laughter and some applause.

At that moment the waitress came over with two pans of pizza, and a few minutes later everyone was eating while talking and Spencer wasn't surprised that Gideon was asking him questions about the degree he working on or the degrees that he's hoping to get before Hotch and Sean gave him the big brother talk before he and Clarissa could leave.

xxxxxxxxxxx

As Spencer and Clarissa headed to Clarissa's car, Clarissa looked at Spencer as she took a hold of his hand.

"I'm sorry if their threats were a bit scary." said Clarissa.

"Someday I will tell you how bad the bullying was when I went through in high school." said Spencer.

Clarissa decided to change the subject.

"So where are you going to take me on my first date as your girlfriend?" asked Clarissa.

"When are you leaving for DC to spend Christmas?" asked Spencer.

"We're leaving for DC on the 23rd, and I already got our plane tickets." said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at Clarissa with wide brown eyes.

"My brother and sister-in-law insisted that you spend Christmas with us because I told them that I didn't want you to spend your first Christmas without your aunt and uncle by yourself." said Clarissa.

"Are you sure you want me to intrude your family?" asked Spencer.

"With you now being my boyfriend, that makes you part of the Hotchner family. Plus spending Christmas vacation with me means we can get a couple of dates in before Spring term starts." said Clarissa.

"I guess I will take your offer, but where am I going to stay?" asked Spencer.

"We're both staying at my brother's house, and they have a guest bedroom you can stay in." said Clarissa.

"Then I must get them something special for Christmas that's legal because we're both underage." joked Spencer.

Clarissa laughed.

"But please let me pay you back for my plane ticket." said Spencer.

"It's my Christmas gift to you." said Clarissa.

At that moment Spencer knew that he needed to get Clarissa something special for their first Christmas together.

"Fine." said Spencer.

"So back to your earlier question, why are you asking about when we're heading down to DC?" asked Clarissa.

"You have seen the previews for "Cast Away"?" asked Spencer.

"I have, and I'm interested in that movie." said Clarissa.

"Then for our first date as boyfriend and girlfriend we shall go see that movie on the 22nd." said Spencer.

"Perfect." said Clarissa as she unlocked her car before Spencer opened the driver's side door.

"After you, milady." said Spencer as he bowed to Clarissa.

"Thank you." said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Seven days later Spencer was paying for his and Clarissa's movie tickets, sodas, and a bag of popcorn for them to share before they headed into to room they were directed to go to, and 15 minutes later Spencer was nervously taking ahold of Clarissa's hand while inwardly thinking that Clarissa's the girl he eventually wants to marry while not knowing that Clarissa was inwardly thinking that Spencer is the guy she wants to marry in the future.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Two and a half hours later, Spencer and Clarissa were leaving the movie theater animatedly talking about the movie.

"That movie was so good." said Clarissa.

"I second that." said Spencer as he looked at his watch before making eye contact with Clarissa, "Let's go get dinner before we head back to Yale."  
10 minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were sitting in a dinner talking about what they wanted to do for their winter break together before classes resume in January, and when they were done they talked about what they wanted to do for the next couple of weeks.


	4. First Christmas Together

Spencer smiled as he watched Clarissa rush over to her oldest brother to hug him as he made his way to Hotch and Clarissa while he carried their carry on bags.

"Even though I saw you over a week ago, I missed you Aaron." said Clarissa.

"You were the one to pick Yale." said Hotch as he hugged his baby sister tightly to him and nodded at Spencer who finally reached them.

"Thanks for having me spend Christmas with you guys." said Spencer quietly.

"No one should spend Christmas and New Years alone." said Hotch as he took Clarissa's carry on bag.

"I know, and my academic adviser offered for me to spend Christmas with him and his family. Let's just say that he's pleased that I found someone who will get me to take a break from studying while hanging out with someone who's my age." said Spencer as he headed towards baggage claim with Hotch and Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer was leaving Dulles with Hotch and Clarissa when Hotch noticed Spencer taking in the sights of Washington DC.

"Ever been to DC before?" asked Hotch.

"I have because my godmother lives in this city and she works for the FBI in the BAU. Dr. Blake specializes in linguistics and she was talking about introducing me to you and Gideon at some point, and I haven't told her that I met you yet." said Spencer.

Hotch realized that Dr. Alex Blake is Spencer's godmother.

"You're the godson that Agent Blake has mentioned since I've started working with her." said Hotch.

Spencer nodded at Hotch to indicate that he's correct.

"She doesn't reveal my name at all since she wants to keep me safe." said Spencer.

"Are you planning on surprising her?" asked Hotch.

"I am because she was another person who invited me to spend Christmas with." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer and Clarissa followed Hotch into Hotch's and Haley's house, and Spencer looked around the living room that was decorated for Christmas.

"You have a nice house." said Spencer.

"Thank you." said Hotch.

At that moment Haley entered from the kitchen.

"Welcome, Spencer." said Haley as she gave Spencer a hug.

"Thank you for letting me stay." said Spencer.

Haley looked at her sister in law.

"Why don't you show Spencer the guest bedroom." said Haley before looking at Spencer, "I just put clean sheets on this morning, and there's clean towels in the guest bathroom."

"Thank you." said Spencer as he picked up his luggage.

"This way Spencer." said Clarissa.

"Lunch will be done in 10 minutes, so please go wash up." said Haley.

10 minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, Hotch, and Haley were sitting around the dining room table, and Clarissa looked at her oldest brother.

"When is Sean arriving?" asked Clarissa.

"He's arriving before supper tonight." said Hotch.

Haley looked at Spencer.

"Is there any dietary issues that I should worry about?" asked Haley.

"I'm lactose intolerant, but I do have antacids with me." said Spencer.

"So no creamed spinach?" asked Haley as she thought about that being included during dinner.

"Correct." said Spencer.

"Then what's your favorite side dish?" asked Haley.

"Peas." said Spencer.

"Then I will make sure to make them for you." said Haley as she made a mental note to give him two helpings at dinner.

xxxxxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer rang the doorbell to Doctors James and Alex Blake's house, and Alex's eyes went wide when she saw Spencer. She instantly pulled him into a hug.

"Hi aunt Alex." said Spencer as he hugged his godmother back.

"I'm so sorry that I couldn't make it to your aunt and uncle's funeral, Spencer." said Alex.

"It's OK, but I wasn't alone the entire time since someone you met before was there for me." said Spencer as he gestured at Clarissa.

Alex noticed Clarissa and motioned both 19 year olds to come inside and remove their jackets, hats, and boots.

"I see that you met my godson at Yale, Clarissa" said Alex as she smirked when she saw Spencer and Clarissa holding hands, "And I'm glad you finally got yourself a girlfriend, Spencer."

"I didn't meet Clarissa until November 30th since she saw me sitting on a bench in tears, and she wouldn't let me be alone, causing me to join her and Hotch for lunch." said Spencer.

"Spencer never revealed that you're his godmother until today." said Clarissa as she accepted a hug from the woman who helped her get into Yale.

"Thank you for being there for my godson." said Alex.

"You're welcome Alex." said Clarissa.

Alex looked at Spencer.

"So you met Aaron?" asked Alex.

"I did, and I also met Jason Gideon when he came up for Clarissa's birthday." said Spencer.

"So you're thinking about going the FBI route when you're finished with college?" asked Alex as he thought about how she got her godson into linguistics during the visits that she had with him.

"Gideon told me that he told the Director about me, but I have to wait until I'm 21 to get into the academy." said Spencer.

"You still have those degrees to work on. I already requested time off to come to watch you earn your 2nd PhD." said Alex.

At that moment Spencer heard the voice of his godfather.

"Who's at the door, Alex?" asked James.

"Come look." said Alex.

James came into the foyer and smiled at Spencer.

"You have definitely grown since the last time I saw you Spencer." said James as he hugged Spencer.

A minute later Spencer, Clarissa, Alex, and James were sitting in the living room, and Alex looked at Spencer.

"Where are you staying?" asked Alex.

Clarissa decided to speak up.

"Aaron, Haley, and I agreed that Spencer should stay in the guest bedroom at my brother's house." said Clarissa.

"You're always welcome to stay here, Spencer." said Alex.

"I know." said Spencer before he started telling his godparents about how college was going and about the grief counselor his academic adviser is having him see.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer and Clarissa returned to the Hotchner house, and Hotch who was reading looked at his sister and Spencer.

"How did your visit with your godparents go, Spencer?" asked Hotch.

"They told me that they already made arrangements to attend graduation in May." said Spencer.

"I'm planning on attending your graduation too, Spencer." said Clarissa.

"Are you excited about attending MIT next fall?" asked Hotch as he thought about Clarissa telling Spencer that he shouldn't cancel his plans to attend MIT in fall of 2001.

"I am, and Clarissa and I agreed that we will make our relationship work despite being one state apart." said Spencer.

"What are you going to do during summer break?" asked Sean.

"We're going to spend as much time as we can together before I have to move up to Cambridge." said Spencer.

Hotch looked at Spencer.

"Well I'm glad that you two are going to make the relationship work when you start at MIT." said Hotch.

"Me too." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxx

Two mornings later, Spencer and Clarissa stepped into the living room together when Haley stopped them.

"You two didn't notice something above the doorway." said Haley.

Spencer and Clarissa noticed the mistletoe that wasn't there the day before, and Spencer pulled Clarissa into a gentle kiss on the lips before Clarissa noticed a smirking Sean.

"I take it that the mistletoe is your doing." said Clarissa.

"Yes." said Sean.

Hotch came into the room with a garbage bag.

"Who's ready to open presents?" asked Hotch.

Spencer and Clarissa quickly made their way to sit on the living room floor, and after a few minutes of opening gifts Spencer was surprised when a big box was placed on his lap and he noticed that it was from Clarissa before he started to open it. His eyes went wide when he saw a leather messenger bag and a note from Clarissa.

WITH HOW TATTERED YOUR CURRENT MESSENGER BAG IS, I DECIDED TO TAKE THE LIBERTY AND GET YOU A NEW ONE FOR CHRISTMAS.

LOVE,

CLARISSA

"I've been meaning to get to get a new one." said Spencer as he leaned over to give Clarissa a peck on the lips, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." said Clarissa as a gift was placed on her lap and a minute later she realized that Spencer got her a gold locket.

"Open it." said Spencer.

Clarissa opened the locket and gasped when she saw a picture of her and Spencer together in the locket.

"That was the first picture you took of us together, and that locket will keep me with you when I move to Cambridge next August." said Spencer.

"I love it, Spencer." said Clarissa as she gently kissed Spencer on the lips while Sean made a playful gagging noise before Clarissa glared at her brother while Spencer blushed a bit.

"You two are so cute together." cooed Haley.

Spencer's face turned even redder while Clarissa blushed a bit before Hotch handed Spencer a box.

"This is from me." said Hotch.

Less than a minute later Spencer grinned when he was holding up an FBI t-shirt.

"I thought that this should help motivate you since you're deciding to go down the FBI route." said Hotch.

"Thank you." said Spencer.

"And tomorrow I'm planning on taking you to a shooting range so I can start giving you lessons." said Hotch.

Spencer slightly smirked.

"My uncle has already taught me all about gun safety and how to shoot a gun." said Spencer.

"How good are you?" asked Hotch.

"I do better with a revolver than a law enforcement issued glock." said Spencer.

"Good to know, but I'm still taking you to a range so I can get to know you a bit better." said Hotch

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The following afternoon Spencer and Hotch were leaving the shooting range, and Hotch looked at Spencer who was looking at the paper target he had with him.

"In the academy that would be a passing score, but they also use use paper human targets." said Hotch.

"Uncle Gordon already taught me that shooting in places that would incapacitate rather than kill is better since that brings a chance of a trial. Also he made sure I learned how to defend myself after a bullying incident happened that caused him to arrest a few classmates and have them registered as sex offenders since some of them were already 18." said Spencer.

Hotch decided to pull into a parking lot of a park so he could listen.

"If you don't mind, would you please tell me what happened?" asked Hotch.

"I already told Clarissa, so I might as well tell you since this incident will be found in the background check that the FBI will do on me." said Spencer as he took a deep breath before continuing, "When I was 11, I was sitting in the library doing my homework because my uncle was running late from picking me up from school, and he told me to wait there for him since he would come inside the school to pick me up." said Spencer and he started to tell the story about Harper Hillman approaching him before being led to the football field where he was stripped naked, and how his uncle found him with the principal who was furious and told everyone to come inside the school so his uncle called for some back up to help him out while the principal contacted parents to come to the school, "And after that incident, the principal agreed to my uncle's decision on having one of the officers at my uncle's precinct be with me at all times to avoid a law suit that my uncle threatened for not doing a good job protecting me." said Spencer.

"Did you have counseling after that incident?" asked Hotch.

"My uncle made sure that I went to counseling, and during that time the child psychologist realized that I have Asperger's syndrome since she saw   
in school reports that teachers were noticing the signs." said Spencer.

"At least you're not letting your Asperger's syndrome from following your dreams." said Hotch.

"My aunt told me that I would be doing great things in my life, and I know that I want to help people with my intelligence." said Spencer as his phone vibrated and he saw a text message from Clarissa.

HALEY AND I ARE ALMOST DONE COOKING SUPPER. ~ CH

"Clarissa just sent me a text telling me that it's almost time for dinner." said Spencer.

"Then we should probably head back." said Hotch as he started his car back up.

xxxxxxxxxx

The next day Spencer was up before anyone else, and he decided to head downstairs and make breakfast for his hosts and Clarissa. Just as he was putting breakfast on the table Hotch, Haley, and Clarissa entered the kitchen together.

"You didn't have to make breakfast Spencer." said Haley as she took in the sight of pancakes, bacon, and shredded hash browns from scratch.

"Sometimes I find cooking relaxing." said Spencer as he started fixing himself a plate, causing the others to fix themselves plates.

"Sometimes I'm jealous of your metabolism, but it could be all that sugar laden coffee that you drink is the reason you're too skinny." teased Clarissa.

"My brain practically runs on glucose due to how active my mind is." said Spencer.

A minute later everyone was sitting at the table eating their breakfast, and after eating a few bites Haley looked at Spencer.

"This is so good." said Haley.

"I have to agree." said Hotch.

"Thank you. My aunt taught me how to cook at an early age, and cooking is basically chemistry for me because my aunt once told me that I just have to follow the instructions while cooking the food properly and I will always have edible results." said Spencer.

"That's a good analogy." said Hotch.

"I know." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Four days later Spencer and Clarissa were sitting in the Hotchners living room with Aaron and Haley watching the ball drop on TV, and when it was officially 2001 Spencer kissed Clarissa while Aaron kissed Haley.

"Happy New Year, Clarissa." said Spencer.

"Happy New Year, Spencer." said Clarissa.


	5. January 2001 through May of 2001

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place from January of 2001 to May of 2001 so there are time jumps.
> 
> With Clarissa planning on being a pediatric nurse, I decided that she would convince Spencer to do magic tricks and read to kids who are being hospitalized in children's hospitals.

January of 2001

Spencer was waiting outside the building where Clarissa was taking her last class of the day, and he smiled when she met up with him.

"How was your afternoon classes?" asked Spencer.

"They were OK, and I have a paper to write." said Clarissa.

"I will be glad to help edit it when you're finished." said Spencer.

"You're the best boyfriend ever." said Clarissa as she stood on her tiptoes and gave Spencer a peck on the lips.

"Should we head to our favorite coffee shop and get started on our homework before getting dinner?" asked Spencer.

"Yes." said Clarissa as she took a hold of Spencer's hand and led him to her car.

xxxxxxxxx

The next Saturday, Spencer looked at Clarissa as they walked to the entrance of Yale's New Haven Children's Hospital.

"Usually children don't like me." said Spencer.

"They will love you when you do magic tricks and read to them." said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were in a large day room with 10 kids who were all sitting in wheelchairs or sitting up in their hospital beds, and one of the young boys looked at Clarissa.

"Is this your boyfriend, Clarissa?" asked seven year old Charlie.

"Yes Charlie, and his name is Spencer Reid." said Clarissa as she introduced each child to Spencer, who committed the names and faces to memory.

"What are we doing today?" asked a five year old girl named Tabitha.

"I'm going to do some magic tricks for you kids before reading to you." said Spencer.

"You're a magician?" asked 12 year old Lydia.

"I am." said Spencer as he quickly pulled a quarter out of his pocket and did some slight of hand tricks before showing his empty palms.

"Wow!" shouted all 10 kids excitably.

"Where did it go?" asked Charlie.

Spencer winked at Clarissa as she pulled a yellow rose out from behind her ear, causing all the kids to clap with excitement.

"Show something else." said eight year old Sammy.

After spending another 10 minutes of doing card tricks and using a pen to go through paper without ripping the paper, Spencer decided to do physics magic for the grand finale.

"I'm going to show you one of my favorite called physics magic before I start story time, so when I ask you kids to close your eyes please follow  
my instructions." said Spencer.

"OK, Mr. Spencer." chorused all 10 kids.

"Please close your eyes." said Spencer before looking at Clarissa, "You too."

All 10 kids including Clarissa covered their eyes, and as soon as Spencer had the film canister ready he looked at his girlfriend and the kids.

"You can look now." said Spencer.

Everyone uncovered their eyes, and Sammy looked at Spencer.

"Nothing's happening." said Sammy.

"Just watched." said Spencer.

A few seconds later the film canister shot up and flew across the room only to go through the open door and hit the wall, causing a nurse to come in as all the kids including Clarissa started laughing.

"Why did a film canister hit the wall?" asked a nurse as she held up a film canister.

"My boyfriend is doing a magic show for the kids, and he's doing what he calls physics magic." said Clarissa as she introduced Spencer to the head nurse.

"Can I see?" asked Nurse Louise.

"Sure." said Spencer.

Lydia looked at Nurse Louise.

"Mr. Spencer says that you need to cover your eyes." said Lydia.

"OK." said Nurse Louise.

Spencer instructed all the kids including Clarissa and Nurse Louise to close their eyes, and as soon as he had the canister ready he told everyone to open their eyes.

"Nothing's happening." said Nurse Louise.

"Just watch." said said an excited nine year old Elena.

The canister started bubbling up, and a few seconds later the canister flew across the room causing cheers from the children as Nurse Louise looked at Spencer.

"You might need to visit here once a month since the kids are having fun." said Nurse Louise.

"I will come as often as I can because I will be transferring to MIT in August to work on my PhD in chemistry." said Spencer.

"Your first PhD?" asked Nurse Louise.

"Spencer's earning his second PhD in engineering this May, and he already has a PhD in mathematics." said a proud Clarissa.

"You must be very smart to already have a PhD." said Nurse Louise.

"I have an IQ of 187, eidetic memory, and a timed reading speed of 20,000 words per minute, and I graduated high school at 12." said Spencer as he noticed all kids look at him with awe.

"Could you help us with our homework?" asked 12 year old Sarah.

"Falling behind in your classes?" asked Spencer as he looked at the head nurse.

"We do have teachers come in to make sure no one falls behind." said Nurse Louise before looking at Spencer, "Would you mind occasionally coming in to tutor kids, I can talk to the administrator who would most likely want to pay you for your services."

"I would do it for free." said Spencer.

"Thank you Dr. Reid." said Nurse Louise as she shook hands with Spencer before looking at the kids, "I will let Spencer get back to entertaining you kids."

A minute later Spencer decided to read to the kids since they had enough excitement from his magic tricks, and he read a few chapters of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer Stone" since a lot of the children were excited about the movie premiering in November. Clarissa couldn't help but smile when the youngest child in the room decided to sit on Spencer's lap despite the medical equipment attached to her.

xxxxxxxx

February of 2001

Spencer smiled when he saw Clarissa come outside for their first Valentine's Day together, and a few minutes later Spencer was driving towards an indoor ice skating rink.

"Thank you for the flowers earlier." said Clarissa.

"You're welcome." said Spencer.

"So where are we going first since you told me to dress warm?" asked Clarissa.

"Ice skating, and then we're going to our favorite diner for dinner and hot chocolate." said Spencer.

"Perfect way to spend our first Valentine's Day together." said Clarissa.

10 minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were lacing up their rented ice skates, and a few minutes later they stepped onto the ice and started skating while holding hands.

"How are you doing on your dissertation?" asked Clarissa.

"I'm 80 percent done with it, and then I will have to stand in front of professors and defend it, which I'm nervous about." said Spencer.

"I think you're going to do great, Spencer." said Clarissa as other couples skated past them.

"I hope so." said Spencer.

"What plans do you have for spring break?" asked Clarissa.

"I'm going to spend Spring break here in New Haven working on my dissertation without having other homework interrupt me." said Spencer.

"What about spending spring break in DC with me? Aaron and Haley told me that you're welcome to stay over again for spring break." said Clarissa.

"I guess I will join you guys." said Spencer.

"I will let them know tomorrow since Haley wants me to tell her how we celebrated our first Valentines Day together." said Clarissa.

"Think we can find out if I can put on a magic show for kids at Children's National?" asked Spencer.

"I think we can." said Clarissa as she let go of Spencer's hand since she decided to skater much faster, causing a laughing Spencer to chase after her.

xxxxxxxxxxx

March of 2001

Spencer and Clarissa entered the cancer ward of Yale's New Haven Children's Hospital, and a nurse smiled when she saw Clarissa and Spencer together.

"Some of the kids are already excited about you two visiting again to do a magic show, story time, and a tutoring session for the older kids." said Nurse Bridget.

"It's the least we can do since I'm always trying to find a wider audience." said Spencer.

"I actually contacted one of my friends from Children's National, and she said that having you two entertain some of the kids during your spring break would be great." said Nurse Bridget.

"When I become a nurse, I'm hoping to work at that hospital." said Clarissa.

A minute later Spencer and Clarissa entered the room where kids were either sitting in wheel chairs or in beds and they all smiled with excitement when they saw Spencer and Clarissa.

"More magic tricks?" asked Tabitha.

Spencer knelt down to Tabitha's eye level.

"Yes Tabitha, and how would you like to be my assistant?" asked Spencer.

"Sure Mr. Spencer." said Tabitha.

Spencer grabbed the handles of Tabitha's wheelchair and a minute later Spencer and Tabitha were in the middle of the circle that the nurses created.

"Can you do physics magic first?" asked 11 year old Sadie.

"I sure can." chuckled Spencer as he thought about how all the kids are enjoying his physics magic.

A few minutes later all kids were cheering and clapping as the film canister flew across the room, causing a few doctors and other nurses to come watch the rest of the magic show.

xxxxxxx

Two weeks later Spencer and Clarissa got out of Clarissa's car in front of Hotch's and Haley's home, and a minute later Haley was helping them carry their bags into the house.

"Thank you for letting me stay here for spring break, Haley." said Spencer.

"Aaron and I don't have the heart to send you to a hotel and I don't want you to be alone at your godparents house while they're on vacation." said Haley.

"When is Aaron coming home?" asked Clarissa.

"Aaron will be home in an hour." said Haley.

10 minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were sitting in the living room with Haley, talking about their plans for Spring break.

"Tomorrow Spencer and I are going to Children's National so Spencer can do a magic show for the kids." said Clarissa.

"How is that going?" asked Haley.

"The kids love me, and their favorite is physics magic." said Spencer.

"Can you please show me?" asked Haley.

"Sure." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Haley jumped when a film canister flew into the living, room luckily not hitting anything at all.

"That's so cool. Can you please show me how you did it?" asked Haley.

"A magician never reveals his secrets." smirked Spencer.

"Spencer hasn't shown me how to do physics magic either." said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer and Clarissa were eating dinner with Hotch and Haley, and Hotch looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"So what are you two going to do for Spring break?" asked Hotch.

"I'm planning on using this week off to work on a good chuck of my dissertation." said Spencer.

"How is that going by the way?" asked Hotch.

"I'm almost finished, and I'm going to be sad leaving Yale for MIT, but I know that I shouldn't stop my plans to stay close to Clarissa." said Spencer.

"Well luckily with the progress I'm making I will be graduating next year in May, and if we're still together I can easily move up to Cambridge and  
get a job." said Clarissa.

Haley looked at Spencer.

"You definitely need to show Aaron your physics magic before we all retire for the night." said Haley.

Spencer just shook his head.

xxxxxxxxx

The next day, Spencer and Clarissa were standing in one of the large play rooms of Children's National, and after the supervising nurse introduced the kids to Spencer and Clarissa, Spencer started his magic show for the kids while Clarissa was his assistant.

xxxxxxxx

Late April of 2001

Spencer and Clarissa were sitting in a park enjoying a warm spring day, and Spencer looked at Clarissa.

"Do you want kids someday?" asked Spencer.

"I do, but I know that finishing nursing school first is more important." said Clarissa.

"I think you will be a great mother." said Spencer as he thought about how great Clarissa was with the kids all the times they went to various  
hospitals to entertain children for a few hours.

"You will be a great father someday, too." said Clarissa.

"I know." said Spencer as he thought about how some of the kids insist on sitting on his lap when he reads them stories.

Spencer and Clarissa started feeling a few raindrops, and Clarissa noticed that they were the only ones in the park causing her quickly get up, grab Spencer's hand, and drag him to the grass as light drizzle became a gentle rain shower.

"Please dance with me." said Clarissa as she gave Spencer her pleading look with her large blue eyes.

"You don't want to get out of this rain?" asked Spencer.

"I don't want to go inside yet, and I don't care if I get soaked since I have a change of clothes in your dorm." said Clarissa as she took hold of her boyfriend's hands.

Spencer shook his head and started to lead Clarissa in a slow dance while occasionally twirling her as the gentle rain shower ended up turning into a sudden downpour, causing the laughing young couple to be soaked to the skin in less than a minute as they continued to dance and splash in nearby puddles.

xxxxxxxxx

May of 2001

Spencer grinned when he heard Clarissa, his godparents, Hotch, Haley, and Gideon all cheer for him as he accepted his second PhD and shook hands with the president of the university before taking his seat on the stage since he was asked to give a speech.

As soon as the ceremony was over he made his way over to Clarissa, his godparents, Hotch, Haley, and Gideon who were waiting for him.

"Congratulations on earning your second PhD, Dr. Reid." said Gideon as he shook hands with Spencer.

"I appreciate you coming all the way up here." said Spencer.

"I had some vacation time set up, and I wanted to help Clarissa move out of her dorm." said Gideon.

Haley pulled Spencer into a hug.

"That was a very touching speech you gave." said Haley.

"I was shocked when a bunch of my professors asked me to give a speech, and I knew that I couldn't resist talking about how I didn't let the deaths of my aunt and uncle stop me from finishing my PhD in engineering." said Spencer before shaking hands with Hotch.

"Congratulations." said Hotch.

"Thank you." said Spencer before he was embraced by his godmother.

"Your parents, aunt Ethel, and uncle Gordon would be so proud of you." said Alex as she hugged her godson before straightening his cap.

"I know." said Spencer as he accepted a hug from his godfather before being pulled into a kiss by Clarissa despite the wolf whistles that a few of his classmates were giving.

"I'm so proud of you, Spencer." said Clarissa as she decided to remove the cap that her boyfriend was wearing and place it on her own head, causing everyone including Spencer to laugh.

"So where are you staying until moving to Cambridge?" asked Haley.

At that moment Alex decided to speak up.

"With James and I, and you guys already know that Spencer's going to spend the few months getting started on a BA in psychology through Georgetown." said Alex.

Spencer looked at his girlfriend.

"At least we have a few months together before you have to come back here while I move up to Cambridge." said Spencer.

"And we're planning on making every minute count." said Clarissa.

At that moment Dr. Richards made his way over and approached Spencer.

"I'm going to miss being your academic adviser, but you do deserve to earn your PhD in chemistry at MIT with the full academic scholarship you were offered." said Dr. Richards and shook hands with Spencer.

"I know that MIT has more to offer when I'm working on my PhD in chemistry, but we are going to spend two weekends a month together since we will be over two hours apart when fall term starts up." said Spencer as he kissed Clarissa on the cheek.

"Don't forget spending holidays together too." said Clarissa as she took a hold of Spencer's hand.

"I see that you two are still going strong." smiled Dr. Richards as he thought about how much of a good influence Clarissa has been on Spencer since the deaths of his aunt and uncle.

"Spencer and I talked about me joining him up in Cambridge if we're still dating when I finish my associate degree of nursing since I can easily find a job up there." said Clarissa.

Dr. Richards looked at Spencer.

"I hope you never let this girl go since she has been a good influence on you." said Dr. Richards.

Everyone smiled as they thought about how Clarissa got Spencer to loosen up the past five months before James became serious.

"We might as well go out to dinner to celebrate, and tomorrow we have to get you two lovebirds moved out of your dorms." said James.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day Hotch, Haley, Gideon, Alex, and James were helping Spencer and Clarissa move out of their dorms before heading down to DC where the movers were already moving everything from the house that Spencer lived in into a storage shed that Alex and James paid for since he, Ethel, and Gordon moved to New Haven.


	6. Summer Break Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of this chapter starts on the six month anniversary of Ethel's and Gordon's death (November 28th was the date of Ethel and Gordon's deaths meaning that May 28th is the six month anniversary).
> 
> I decided to have the chapter that deals with summer break be in two parts. Spencer may do a few out of character things, but with Clarissa's personality she's getting Spencer to break out of his shell.

Alex woke up to crying, and 30 seconds later she and James were in Spencer's bedroom and saw Spencer sobbing in his sleep. A minute later Alex was sitting on Spencer's bed stroking his hair as she comforted her godson.

"It's alright, Spencer." soothed Alex as she realized that it was the six month anniversary of Ethel's and Gordon's deaths.

At that moment Spencer woke up to see his godparents in his bedroom.

"Sorry that I woke you guys." croaked Spencer as he sat up.

"It's the six month anniversary of your aunt and uncle's deaths, and it's OK if you're sad today." said Alex as she hugged her godson.

"I know." said Spencer.

Alex looked at the digital clock on Spencer's nightstand and saw that it was 6 AM, remembering that she has off due to it being the last Monday in May.

"With it being Memorial Day, what do you say about inviting Hotch, Gideon, Haley, and Clarissa over for a barbecue?" asked Alex.

"I like your idea aunt Alex, because I need some good distractions." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Six hours later Spencer was sitting away from his godparents, Hotch, Haley, Gideon and Clarissa looking at a picture of him with his aunt and uncle when he heard a voice.

"You OK Spencer?" asked Clarissa as she sat down next to Spencer.

"I just can't believe that it's been six months since the police came to my dorm to tell me the news about aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon being killed by a drunk driver." said Spencer as he looked down at the last picture taken of him with his aunt and uncle before looking at his girlfriend with a soft smile on his face, "And in two days it will be six months of one of the best days of my life." said Spencer.

"Meeting you was one of the best days of my life too, Spencer." said Clarissa as she pecked Spencer on the lips before looking at him, "What do you think about playing a game of chess?" asked Clarissa as she thought about the chess lessons that Spencer has been giving her.

"I will go grab my board." said Spencer.

"I'll wait here." said Clarissa.

Spencer got up and ran towards the house to grab the board from his bedroom, and as soon as he closed the patio door and rushed up the stairs,  
Gideon looked at Alex.

"Is Spencer OK?" asked Gideon.

Alex looked at Gideon, Hotch, and Haley.

"It's the six month anniversary of the deaths of his aunt and uncle, and having you guys and Clarissa here was my way to help distract him today." said Alex before looking at Hotch, "I was afraid that he would have been worse than he was when I attended his parents funeral, but with how your little sister entered his life he bounced back much quicker than I thought he would."

A minute later Spencer came back outside carrying a box and sprinted over to Clarissa, and the adults watched the young couple set up a board together causing Gideon to squint before smiling when he saw the game that they were about to play.

"Chess?" asked Gideon.

"Spencer's late uncle Daniel taught him how to play a few months before he, Diana, and William died in that car crash together." said Alex.

"How good is he at chess?" asked Gideon.

"He always beats me." said Alex.

James looked back from the grill where he was grilling burgers.

"He beats me too." said James.

"I think I might have to coax him to play against me later." said Gideon as he thought about the games of chess he had against Rossi.

"He will definitely enjoy playing against you." said Alex.

xxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer was playing chess against Gideon for the very first time, and as soon as Gideon checkmated him Spencer slightly scowled.

"I guess I finally met my match." muttered Spencer.

xxxxxxxx

The next day Spencer was sitting at the kitchen island with Alex and James, and Alex looked at Spencer.

"I made arrangements for us to visit Georgetown University today since they're going to help you register for online correspondence on a BA in psychology." said Alex.

"Thank you." said Spencer.

"But please don't spend all summer working on that degree since you're on summer break right now." said Alex.

"Clarissa mentioned that she's going to make sure we spend every afternoon together, rain or shine." said Spencer.

"That's probably a good idea since there's a lot to do in DC, Maryland, and Virginia." said Alex.

"I know." said Spencer.

Alex looked at the clock before looking at Spencer.

"Our meeting is in 45 minutes." said Alex as she decided to give Spencer another helping of bacon.

Spencer focused on finishing his breakfast.

xxxxxxxxxxx

A half hour later Spencer entered Georgetown University with Alex, and a short while later he was meeting with the dean and the head of the psychology department who were both looking at Spencer's records from Yale. Before he knew it Spencer was registered for online classes and given what he needed to complete his BA through online correspondence.

xxxxxxxxxx

Later that morning, Spencer was already starting to work on his BA in psychology when his cellphone rang and he saw it was Alex.

"You're leaving for a case?" asked Spencer.

"No case, but I'm working on a case file right now, and I need a certain book to help me. So do you think you can stop by the office and bring me the book I need before you hang out with Clarissa this afternoon?" asked Alex as she named the title.

"Sure." said Spencer.

"I will let security know that you are on the list of approved visitors for me." said Alex before hanging up so she could start making arrangements for Spencer to come up to the sixth floor.

Spencer quickly found the book that his godmother asked him to grab before looking down at his jeans and t-shirt making him decide that he needed to put something nicer on since he was going to a government building. After changing into khakis, a dress shirt, and a sweater vest he grabbed the keys to the ancient Volvo that his aunt and uncle got him for earning his first PhD and started the hour long drive to Quantico.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer was standing in the elevator fiddling with his visitor badge, and when he got to the sixth floor he saw his godmother waiting by the elevators. He passed her the book.

"Here." said Spencer.

"Thank you Spencer." said Alex as she hugged her godson.

"You're welcome, aunt Alex." said Spencer and he looked at the glass doors that led to the bullpen for the BAU just as a blond agent around Alex's age stepped out.

"Shouldn't you be working on your consults right now, Blake?" asked Strauss.

"My godson brought me something that I need for one of the consults I'm working on." said Alex as she looked at Strauss, "Chief Strauss, this is my 19-year-old godson Dr. Spencer Reid, and he's staying with me for the summer before he moves to Cambridge this August to attend MIT." said Alex before looking at Spencer, "Spencer, this is my section chief Erin Strauss.

"Nice to meet you ma'am." said Spencer shyly.

"Blake has told me about you, and I have to say congratulations on your second PhD, Dr. Reid." said Strauss as she shook hands with Spencer.

Spencer looked at his godmother.

"It still feels strange being addressed as Dr. Reid, despite only being 19." said Spencer.

"You worked hard for those two PhDs, Spencer." said Alex.

"I know." said Spencer.

At that moment both Hotch and Gideon stepped through the glass doors and briefly smiled a bit when they saw Spencer.

"Is Clarissa with you?" asked Hotch.

"She isn't, but I'm meeting with her for lunch." said Spencer.

"What are you two going to do after lunch?" asked Gideon.

"When I talked to Clarissa this morning, she mentioned that she got us tickets to visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's permanent exhibition." said Spencer.

"Tell Clarissa that I say hi." said Alex.

"I will." said Spencer.

Strauss looked at Spencer.

"You met Clarissa at Yale?" asked Strauss.

"Yes, ma'am," said Spencer.

"What do your parents think of Clarissa?" asked Strauss as she thought about the brief interactions she had with Clarissa and how she liked her instantly.

Spencer's face saddened a bit as Alex rested a hand on Spencer's arm and squeezed it.

"They were killed by a drunk driver when I was four, and I was raised by my aunt and uncle until their deaths six months ago." said Spencer sadly.

"I'm sorry." said Strauss as she realized that the young man who was standing in front of her has dealt with so much pain while still finding the happiness that everyone deserves.

Spencer looked at his watch.

"I'm supposed to be meeting up with Clarissa in 90 minutes so I have to get going." said Spencer.

Alex looked at her godson.

"I will see you when I get home, and if I have a case I will call you." said Alex.

"OK, and I promise to drive safely." said Spencer and accepted a hug from his godmother before pressing the elevator button. After the elevator doors closed, Strauss looked at Gideon.

"Is that the young man that you're pulling strings for to get into into the academy before he reaches the minimal age requirement?" asked Strauss.

"Yes, and I believe that he will be an integral part to the BAU since he impressed me at the lecture I gave at Yale last year." said Gideon.

"With the interactions I had with him for the past six months, I'm impressed with how much he knows at his age." said Hotch.

"He seemed a bit shy." said Strauss.

"He has Asperger's syndrome which causes him to be shy when meeting new people, but having Clarissa in his life helped break him out of his shell while giving him the chance to be the 19-year-old college student he deserves to be since he had to act a lot older than his age when he started Yale over a month before turning 13 since he was always placed with students much older than him." said Alex.

xxxxxxxxxx

Two days later Spencer was in the front passenger seat of Clarissa's car and looked at his girlfriend as she drove.

"So where are you taking us to celebrate the six month anniversary of our first meeting?" asked Spencer.

"We're going to my favorite amusement park, Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia, and I told you to bring a spare change of clothes just in case we go on any of the three water rides." said Clarissa.

"I've never been to Busch Gardens, but I have been to amusement parks with aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon." said Spencer.

"You're going to enjoy Busch Gardens." said Clarissa as she noticed that they were an hour away from Williamsburg.

"Don't be surprised if I ramble about the engineering aspects of the rides we go on." said Spencer.

"I won't." said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxxxx

Three hours later Spencer and Clarissa burst out laughing as the raft they were riding on passed through a waterfall causing both Spencer and Clarissa to be thoroughly soaked head to toe as they rode through the rapids of Roman Rapids.

xxxxxxxxx

As soon as they got off the ride, Clarissa looked at her boyfriend while admiring how his soaking wet clothes were clinging to his skin while showing off the slight amount of muscles that he developed after all the work outs they did together over the past six months, causing her to realize that she needed to cool down before she breaks her rule about no sex until marriage and take him to a hotel room to get his clothes off him.

"Want to go on again or do you want to go on another water ride?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer looked at his girlfriend and noticed how his girlfriend's soaking wet clothes were hugging her curves in all the right places, causing him to think if they should dry off and head to a hotel, and he didn't know how long he was staring at her until he felt a hand on his face.

"Spencer." said Clarissa in a sing song voice.

"What?" asked Spencer as he felt his face heating up.

Clarissa giggled.

"We should go back on Roman Rapids so we can both cool down." said Clarissa as she grabbed her boyfriend's hand and dragged him towards the line.

xxxxxxxxxx

Six hours later Spencer and Clarissa were leaving Busch Gardens in dry clothes, and as soon as they were on the highway, Clarissa looked at Spencer.

"I know that we talked about having kids someday, but when it comes to having sex I'm the type of person who waits until marrying the right guy." said Clarissa.

"I understand since we've only known each other for six months, and I could give you the statistics about why people should wait until marriage since waiting until marriage helps develop healthier relationships." said Spencer.

"At lease we're on the same page" said Clarissa.

"My aunt and uncle told me to wait until marriage too." said Spencer as his stomach growled, causing Clarissa to giggle.

"Let's get something to eat before I take you home." said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two weeks later Spencer and Clarissa were hiking on one of Clarissa's favorite trails, and after an hour of hiking Clarissa smiled when she saw the lake that she used to go swimming in with her brothers as a child was unoccupied.

"Let's take a break here for awhile." said Clarissa as she removed her backpack causing Spencer to follow suit.

"It's beautiful." said Spencer as he took in the sight of the lake before looking at Clarissa.

"Barely anyone comes here, and this is my favorite lake to go swimming in." said Clarissa.

"Lake Mead was my favorite lake to go swimming in when I was a child." said Spencer.

Clarissa noticed the sweat that was soaking the collar of Spencer's t-shirt and how shiny his forehead looked.

"Speaking of swimming, let's go swimming right now because we're both hot and sweaty." said Clarissa as she grabbed Spencer's hand and tugged it, "Come on."

"Can I remove my shirt first?" asked Spencer.

"Nope." said Clarissa as she started sprinting towards the dock causing Spencer to start sprinting since she kept a firm hold on his hand, and 15 seconds later they were jumping into the seven foot deep lake. As soon as they resurfaced, they were laughing their heads off as they continued to tread in the cool lake.

"I feel so much better now." said Clarissa as she took in the sight of Spencer's wet curls clinging to his forehead.

"Me too." said Spencer as he continue to tread water.

Clarissa decided to be playful by diving under to pull Spencer under, and as soon as they resurfaced Spencer smirked at her.

"Oh it's on." said Spencer as he splashed water at Clarissa starting a splashing war before they decided to do relays to see who can swim the fastest despite feeling the heaviness of their soaking wet clothes.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Over a half hour later, Spencer and Clarissa were laying side by side on a blanket as they allowed the sun to dry them off while Spencer's shirt laid on the grass to dry, and after laying together for a half hour, Clarissa looked at her shirtless boyfriend and noticed that he was beginning to look less pale.

"How were you able to swim around effortlessly despite how heavy your clothes probably felt?" asked Clarissa.

"My uncle Gordon made sure that I took swimming lessons when I was a child, and with how fast I was excelling with my swimming lessons he decided to have an in ground swimming pool built into the backyard. As soon as the pool was filled with water, one of the first things he had me learn was how to handle swimming in different layers because he and aunt Ethel were worried that my clumsiness would cause me to fall into the pool fully clothed." said Spencer.

"Makes sense because not all clothing weighs the same." said Clarissa as clouds started to move in, causing her to look at Spencer, "We should probably head back since it seems like it's going to rain." said Clarissa just as she felt a raindrop hit her arm.

Spencer quickly pulled his t-shirt back on before helping Clarissa pack up her blanket just as a downpour started causing them to break out into a sprint, and as soon as they reached Clarissa's car they were thoroughly soaked to the skin again.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later that evening Spencer was eating dinner with his godparents, and Alex looked at her godson who was wearing different clothes than he was wearing when all three adults sat down for breakfast.

"I take it that you got caught in the rain when you were with Clarissa this afternoon." said Alex.

Spencer nodded as he chewed his dinner before speaking up.

"Clarissa took me to one of her favorite inland lakes that she loved swimming in as a child, and with how hot it was she decided that we needed to go swimming fully clothed to cool down," said Spencer before taking a sip of his soda before he continued, "After spending nearly 45 minutes swimming in the lake, we ended up laying on the blanket and talked while we allowed the sun to dry us off before it started to downpour making us head back to Clarissa's car."

"I'm glad that you had fun today." said Alex as she thought about what Spencer and Clarissa have done together the past few weeks, causing Spencer to be more animated than she ever saw him be as a child.

"I'm glad too." said Spencer.

"With how she's your polar opposite when it comes to personality while you both have the same mutual interests, I have a huge feeling that your relationship with Clarissa is going to last a really long time." said Alex.

"I hope so too." said Spencer.

At that moment Spencer, Alex, and James decided to finish eating dinner before sitting down in the living room to play Scrabble.


	7. Summer Break Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Criminal Minds.
> 
> Clarissa likes classical music just like Spencer, so she would know names of songs.

Clarissa rang the doorbell and raised her eye brow when she heard violin music stop less than 30 seconds before Spencer opened the door.

"What's up?" asked Spencer as he stepped aside to let Clarissa into the house.

"Were you just playing Mozart's "The Magic Flute" on your violin?" asked Clarissa when she noticed her boyfriend's violin on the end table.

"Yes." said Spencer.

"Can you please do a repeat performance for me?" asked Clarissa.

"Anything for you." said Spencer as he picked up his violin, and as soon as he got his violin into the correct position he started playing "The Magic Flute" with his eyes closed leaving Clarissa in awe as she knew that with his eidetic memory he didn't need sheet music.

When he was finished, Clarissa was clapping as a few tears streamed down her face.

"That was beautiful." said Clarissa.

"Thanks." said Spencer.

At that moment Clarissa remembered her boyfriend's cello, and she looked at her Spencer.

"Can you play your cello for me?" asked Clarissa.

"Sure." said Spencer as he headed upstairs and grabbed his cello from his bedroom, and a few minutes later he was playing one of his favorite cello pieces.

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A week later Spencer and Clarissa were sitting with Hotch, Gideon, Alex, and James on the Blake's patio for the 4th of July, and Clarissa looked at Spencer.

"Do you think you can put on an impromptu concert?" asked Clarissa.

"What type of concert?" asked Gideon.

Spencer looked at Gideon and remembered that he never told Gideon about knowing how to play the piano, violin, and cello.

"After the deaths of my parents my aunt decided to sign me up for piano lessons to help distract me, and I ended up mastering the piano, violin, and cello very quickly because of my eidetic memory and applying music to mathematics." said Spencer.

"Would you mind playing either the violin or cello for me if you have your instruments here?" asked Gideon.

"Sure." said Spencer as he got up and headed inside to grab his violin.

Five minutes later Spencer was playing "Moonlight Sonata" on his violin, and as soon as he was done, Spencer noticed that Haley and Clarissa were both wiping tears.

"That was beautiful, Spencer." said Haley.

"There were times that my uncle cried since he mentioned that my mom was a gifted violinist." said Spencer.

Alex flashed back to one of the last times she saw Spencer's mother before looking at her godson.

"She definitely was Spencer, and I see some of you in your mom every day because you inherited her curls, facial features, and intelligence while having your dad's brown eyes and brown hair." said Alex.

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The following Monday, Spencer and Clarissa were sitting in the Blakes living room watching a movie, and all of a sudden Spencer felt some extreme pain in his abdomen, causing him to groan as he clutched his belly.

"You OK?" asked Clarissa.

"I don't feel so good." said Spencer as he quickly got up and rushed to the bathroom where he vomited into the toilet.

A minute later Clarissa was feeling her boyfriend's forehead and frowned when she noticed the temperature, causing her to search for a thermometer. As soon as she took her boyfriend's temperature she grimaced as she noticed that he had a fever of 101 and asked Spencer a series of questions based on his symptoms before looking at her boyfriend.

"We're going to the hospital because you might showing symptoms of appendicitis, and I will call Alex as soon as we get there." said Clarissa as she helped her boyfriend stand up, and a few minutes later she was driving Spencer to the nearest hospital.

xxxxxxxxxxx

An hour and a half later Clarissa was stroking Spencer's hair in Spencer's cubicle when a doctor came into the room and looked at Spencer.

"Based on the results of the lab work and CT scan that I ordered, you have appendicitis. You are heading down to surgery in 10 minutes." said Dr. Wong just as Alex came rushing into the cubicle.

"Thank you for calling me Clarissa." said Alex as she looked at the doctor, "I'm his godmother and medical power of attorney Dr. Alex Blake."

"I'm Dr. Wong, and I will be operating on your godson." said Dr. Wong.

"Is it appendicitis?" asked Alex.

"It is, and a nurse and I will be taking him down to the operating room in nine minutes." said Dr. Wong.

"Do you know about Spencer's severe allergy to Beta Lactams?" asked Alex.

"I saw it in Spencer's medical records." said Dr. Wong.

Spencer looked at Alex.

"I'm sorry that you had to leave work." said Spencer and groaned in pain before he grabbed the basin that was placed in front of him and vomited.

"I just got off the plane when Clarissa got ahold of me, and Gideon told me that you're more important than work right now." said Alex as she rubbed her godson's back.

A minute later Clarissa was looking at her boyfriend as she wiped some sweat off Spencer's forehead.

"I will be there when you wake up." said Clarissa as she gave Spencer a kiss on the forehead before removing his glasses, "I will keep your glasses safe."

"I love you Clarissa." said Spencer.

"Love you too." said Clarissa as she squeezed Spencer's hand.

xxxxxxxxx

30 minutes later Clarissa was pacing in the surgical waiting room while Alex sat in a nearby chair.

"He's going to be OK since your medical knowledge helped you realize that you needed to bring him here," said Alex.

"I know, and we never said 'I love you' to each other until today." said Clarissa as she sat down next to Alex.

At that moment Hotch and Haley came into the room.

"How's Spencer?" asked Haley as she hugged her sister-in-law.

"He's currently having an appendectomy." said Clarissa.

"Are you sure you don't want to become a medical doctor instead of a pediatric nurse?" asked Hotch.

"I prefer being a nurse instead of a doctor because you decided to become an FBI agent instead of being a prosecutor like you were." said Clarissa.

Haley smirked at her husband.

"She got you there, Aaron." said Haley as she gave her sister-in-law a high five.

Alex looked at Clarissa.

"I have a feeling that we're going to be fighting over who gets to take care of Spencer as soon as he gets out of the hospital." said Alex.

"I know." said Clarissa.

"Don't forget about me." said Haley.

"You practically adopted my boyfriend already." said Clarissa as she smirked at her sister-in-law.

At that moment Haley looked at Alex.

"Where's James?" asked Haley.

"He's currently flying out to China, but I did leave him a message to let him know what's going on." said Alex.

"Think he's going to come home?" asked Clarissa.

"I don't know yet, but I told him in my message that Spencer should be fine." said Alex.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer woke up feeling much better than earlier despite the dull pain in his abdomen before he felt Clarissa's hand in his IV free hand and squeezed, causing Clarissa to look at him.

"Now there's those beautiful brown eyes that I love." said Clarissa as she adjusted her boyfriend's hospital bed before helping him get an ice cube in his mouth.

As soon as his mouth was moistened he looked at Clarissa and his godmother despite not being able to see anyone.

"Open or laparoscopic?" asked Spencer.

"Open appendectomy, and you're going to be here until Thursday." said Clarissa as she threaded her boyfriend's glasses onto the bridge of his nose.

"I have off until next Monday, and when I go back to work Clarissa's going to take care of you." said Alex as she pressed the call button and a minute later a nurse came in.

"I see you're awake, Spencer." said Nurse Christina before she jotted down Spencer's vitals while asking Spencer some questions about his pain levels before leaving the room.

A minute after, Spencer let out a huge yawn, and Clarissa looked at her boyfriend.

"Get some rest because the anesthesia is still wearing off." said Clarissa as she removed her boyfriend's glasses.

"Will you be here when I wake up?" asked Spencer.

"I will be right here, and I will see if you can eat some jello when you wake up." said Clarissa.

A minute later Spencer was fast asleep in his hospital bed.

xxxxxxxxx

The next morning, Clarissa entered one of the day rooms at Children's National and a few kids instantly had disappointed faces when they didn't see Spencer.

"No Spencer?" asked 11 year old Samantha.

"Spencer's in another hospital right now," said Clarissa as she noticed worried faces, "He had to get his appendix removed yesterday afternoon, and he's going to be hospitalized until Thursday. So it's going to be a few weeks before he gives you kids another magic show," said Clarissa as she looked at the sad faces of seven kids.

"Can we please make Spencer some get well soon cards?" asked 8 year old Thomas, causing a few kids who have met Spencer before chime in about making Spencer cards too.

"That's a lovely idea, Thomas." said Clarissa.

The supervising nurse quickly went to get materials for the cards, and 10 minutes later Clarissa and a few nurses were assisting the kids in making get well soon cards.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Three hours later Spencer was sitting up in his hospital bed helping Clarissa with her crossword puzzle when Gideon entered the room.

"How are you feeling Spencer?" asked Gideon as he set a chess board on the rolling table.

"Much better than yesterday, and I'm more awake that I was this morning." said Spencer as he couldn't help but smile when he saw the chess board that Gideon brought.

Gideon looked at Clarissa while remembering that Alex told him that Clarissa stayed the night.

"Why don't you go eat some non hospital food and go home to take a shower while I keep Spencer company for a few hours." said Gideon.

"OK." said Clarissa before glaring at her boyfriend, "I don't want to hear about you arguing with your nurse about wanting to be discharged against medical advice, and I will warn the nurses about your puppy dog eyes and pout." said Clarissa before kissing her boyfriend's forehead and left the room.

A minute later Gideon was setting up the chess board and looked at Spencer.

"Getting a bit restless in the hospital?" asked Gideon.

"I really don't like hospitals due to the lighting, but I'm getting used to spending a few hours a day in children's hospitals since I enjoy doing magic shows for kids." said Spencer.

"As soon as you recover, you can go back to entertaining kids." said Gideon as he noticed some get well soon cards made from construction paper, "Get well soon cards from the kids you entertained?" asked Gideon.

"Clarissa and I were supposed to entertain the kids at Children's National for a few hours this morning, and I told her to go and read to them. Let's just say that all the kids decided to ditch story time so they could make me get well soon cards." said Spencer.

"You think of having kids of your own someday?" asked Gideon as he moved a chess piece.

"When I marry the right girl." said Spencer as he complemented his move before moving a chess piece.

"Thinking about asking Clarissa to become Mrs. Reid someday?" asked Gideon.

"Yeah, but I'm the type of guy who prefers to ask for a blessing while waiting until after getting married to have kids." said Spencer.

Gideon nodded.

"You have a ring?" asked Gideon.

"While going through my aunt's and uncle's house, I found my mom's old engagement ring." said Spencer.

"Knowing Clarissa, she would love to wear your mother's engagement ring when you ask her to become Mrs. Reid." said Gideon.

"I think so too." said Spencer.

At that moment both men decided to focus on their chess match, and Gideon smirked when he moved his last piece.

"Checkmate." said Gideon.

"Why do I even bother." muttered Spencer.

"Just think about all the chess matches we would have if you get into the BAU." said Gideon.

"I just want to get through the academy first, and I still have to wait another two years before I will be a cadet." said Spencer.

"Speaking of being a cadet in two years, do you think you can handle the physical portion of training?" asked Gideon as he thought about the school records that he was able to get hold of.

"Let's just say that when it came to being exempt from physical education due to being the youngest in my class, my uncle made sure that I stayed fit by taking me running with him every day while we did push ups and sit ups together." said Spencer.

Gideon gave him a look.

"I have confidence that I can handle physical training without waivers because I exercise regularly to stay healthy, but for now I really can't do exercising until my doctor clears me." said Spencer as he pointed at his abdomen.

"I will let the Director know that you won't need exemptions because Hotch told me that you had self defense lessons while your uncle taught you how to handle and shoot a gun." said Gideon.

"So you saw the targets that I gave Hotch permission to show you?" asked Spencer.

"I sure did, and I was actually impressed." said Gideon.

"Uncle Gordon was one of the best sharp shooters in Nevada and eventually Connecticut." said Spencer.

At that moment Spencer and Gideon started talking about books until Clarissa came back in clean clothes while bringing jello for Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two days later Spencer shook his head when Alex and Clarissa got him comfortable on the couch in his godparents living room, and after Clarissa fluffed his pillows he smiled at his girlfriend.

"Would you believe it that you were my most favorite nurse in the hospital?" asked Spencer as he flirted with his girlfriend.

Clarissa giggled.

"I'm not a registered nurse yet, but you are my favorite patient." said Clarissa as she kissed her boyfriend's forehead before covering him up with a blanket, "Get some sleep Spencer."

A few minutes later Alex and Clarissa were sitting in the kitchen over a cup of coffee.

"Do you want to stay for dinner?" asked Alex.

"I'm planning on it." said Clarissa.

"Well I have to run to the store and get a few groceries, so I would highly appreciate it that you stay here with Spencer." said Alex.

"Spencer should be fine with me, and if there's any problems I will call you." said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Clarissa was sitting in the living room reading while Spencer slept on the couch.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Four days later Alex pulled up at the Hotchners, and a few minutes later Clarissa was helping Spencer get situated on the couch while Haley and Alex talked in the kitchen.

"Thank you taking him in while I work." said Alex.

"You're welcome Alex, and he will be fine with Clarissa and me. And if you have a case, he's welcome to stay in the guest bedroom until you get back." said Haley.

"I appreciate your help." said Alex.

"I developed a soft spot for your godson instantly, and let's just say that when my father met Spencer last Christmas, they ended up bonding over magic tricks." said Haley.

xxxxxxxxxx

Later that evening Hotch and Alex entered the house to see Clarissa sitting on the couch with Spencer's head on her lap while they both watched "Star Trek", and they decided to leave the young couple alone by heading to the kitchen where Haley was cooking dinner.

"How did Spencer do today?" asked Alex as Hotch give Haley a quick kiss.

"There were no complications, and if he was about to protest on eating and taking his medication Clarissa just glared at him, and her glare got him to cooperate." said a snickering Haley.

"She definitely has the Hotchner glare down." said a proud Hotch.

"Ethel and Gordon told me in the past that Spencer could be stubborn sometimes, and I've noticed that Clarissa has been easing some of Spencer's stubbornness away." said Alex.

At that moment Haley checked dinner, and she looked at Alex.

"You and Spencer are staying for dinner." said Haley.

"I don't want to intrude." said Alex.

"I decided to make one of Spencer's favorites, and knowing Spencer he's probably got to head up to bed and go to sleep as soon as you two get home so I want to make sure he eats dinner." said Haley.

A few minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, Hotch, Haley, and Alex were sitting around the dining room table, and Alex looked at her godson.

"Aren't you supposed to have your post operation appointment tomorrow?" asked Alex.

"Yes, and Clarissa offered to take me." said Spencer.

Alex looked at Clarissa.

"Thank you for your help this past week." said Alex.

"You're welcome." said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day Spencer was laying on an exam table as a nurse removed his stitches, and when the nurse was finished she looked at Spencer.

"I assume that you know that you're still supposed to take it easy for a few more weeks?" asked the nurse as she applied a bandage.

"Yes ma'am, and luckily I will be recovered enough to make the drive to Cambridge to attend MIT next month." said Spencer as he slipped on the hospital gown that he was instructed to put on.

"What degree are you working on?" asked the nurse.

"I'm going to be studying for my third PhD in chemistry, and I should have it by May of 2003." said Spencer.

"Impressive." said the nurse before looking at Spencer, "Well I will go see if Dr. Wong is ready to do his post operation appointment." said the nurse before leaving the room.

A few minutes later Dr. Wong entered the room and smiled when he saw Spencer and Clarissa.

"You're looking much better, Spencer." said Dr. Wong as he shook hands with Spencer.

"I feel great, and it helps that my girlfriend is studying to become a nurse." said Spencer as he winked at Clarissa, who was blushing.

Dr. Wong looked at Spencer.

"So I recall that you're starting at MIT next month, and what degree are you working on again?" asked Dr. Wong as he started his exam.

"A PhD in chemistry, and after earning my PhD in chemistry I'm going to be getting into the FBI academy because they want me to wait until I'm 21." said Spencer before he stopped talking so he could answer Dr. Wong's questions before he was told that he could put his shirt back on.

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Over a month later Spencer, Clarissa, and Alex were loading Spencer's belongings into Spencer's Volvo, and Spencer looked at Clarissa after he closed his truck.

"I will call you as soon as I get my belongings into my dorm." said Spencer.

Clarissa stood on her tiptoes a bit to give Spencer a peck on the lips before Alex could have a moment with him.

"Please call me when you arrive at MIT, and if you need anything shipped to you please call me." said Alex as she hugged her godson.

"I promise." said Spencer.

"You should get going." said Alex as she gave her godson one last hug before Spencer got into the drivers seat of his Volvo, and after waving to Alex and his girlfriend he started his over seven and a half hour drive to Cambridge, Massachusetts.


	8. September 2001 through December 2001

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts a week after Clarissa moves back to New Haven, and Spencer and Clarissa decided that they would visit each other twice a month while visiting each other for their birthdays while going down to DC for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
> 
> September 11th, of 2001 will be mentioned in this chapter. Clarissa would be extremely emotional due to the kids that were on those four planes or in the World Trade Center who died. I was a seven year old second grader when 9/11 happened, and I recall being in the library with my class and seeing the librarians watching TV. After returning to my second grade classroom, my teacher sat my classmates and I down on the carpet and told us that there was a terrorist attack and told us to think about the second graders who lost their parents that day or the parents who lost their second graders.

Spencer grinned when Clarissa pulled up into the parking lot, and less than 30 seconds later he was hugging and kissing her despite a few wolf whistles that were going around.

"I missed you these past two weeks." said Clarissa.

"I missed you too." said Spencer.

"I'm only here for 12 hours. So what do you have in mind for us to do today?" asked Clarissa.

"Give you a tour of the campus." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was showing Clarissa around MIT, and an hour later they were sitting in a nearby coffee shop drinking coffee and sharing a brownie.

"What are you doing to earn spending money?" asked Clarissa as she took a sip of her coffee.

"I'm a teaching assistant for one of the mathematics professors, and next year I will finally be able to access that trust fund." said Spencer.

"But are you still going to keep that job after you're able to access the account?" asked Clarissa.

"I am." said Spencer.

At that moment Spencer and Clarissa decided to talk about how their classes have been going and some of the hacks that Spencer has witnessed so far.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few days later Spencer was hugging a crying Clarissa.

"It's horrible that kids died in those four plane crashes today." sobbed Clarissa.

"I know." said Spencer as he rubbed Clarissa's back.

"Thank you for driving here since all flights are currently canceled." sobbed Clarissa.

"I'm upset about what happened today too, and what happened is another huge reason why I'm joining the FBI because of the possibility of stopping possible terrorist attacks from happening." said Spencer as he continued to comfort a sobbing Clarissa.

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Nearly a month later Spencer was getting ready for the day when his cellphone rang. He smiled when he saw that it was Clarissa, causing him to answer it right away.

"Good morning Clarissa." said Spencer.

"Happy 20th birthday Spencer." said Clarissa.

"Thank you." said Spencer.

"So are you excited about me coming up to Cambridge this weekend to belatedly celebrate your birthday?" asked Clarissa.

"I am." said Spencer before looking at his alarm clock, "I have to get going so I can go eat breakfast before my first class of the day."

"I have to go eat breakfast too, and I will call you tonight." said Clarissa as she exchanged love yous with Spencer before hanging up.

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Four days later Spencer was being attacked with hugs and kisses from Clarissa, and 20 minutes later they were sitting in a nearby dinner and Clarissa pulled a small box out of her purse.

"Happy birthday." said Clarissa as she watched her boyfriend unwrap his gift.

20 seconds later Spencer was staring at a gold pocket watch.

"Open it up." said Clarissa.

Spencer opened up the watch and smiled when he saw a picture of him and Clarissa together on their last day of summer vacation.

"It's perfect." said Spencer as he leaned forward and gave her a kiss.

"Just so you know, I'm paying for our lunch." said Clarissa.

Spencer shook his head as a waitress approached them, and five minutes later they were sipping coffee while they waited for their meals.

"Excited about our upcoming trip to DC for Thanksgiving?" asked Clarissa.

"I am." said Spencer as he thought about the plans that he had.

At that moment Spencer and Clarissa started talking about their classes and the hack that Spencer helped pull on campus due to his engineering skills while they waited for their food to arrive.

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Over a month later Spencer and Clarissa entered Hotch's and Haley's house, and Haley engulfed Spencer in a hug right away.

"Glad that you were able to join us, Spencer." said Haley.

"I didn't feel like going to Kansas City, Missouri with my godparents." said Spencer before he nodded at Hotch.

"Please take your bags upstairs and lunch will be done in a half hour." said Haley.

Five minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were back downstairs, and Hotch noticed a pensive look on Spencer's face while remembering that the one year anniversary of the deaths of Spencer's aunt and uncle was less than a week away.

"Let's go talk in my office." said Hotch.

A minute later Hotch was closing the door of his study and looked at Spencer who sat down in a chair.

"How are you doing with the upcoming anniversary of the deaths of your aunt and uncle?" asked Hotch.

"I'm doing OK, and my professors excused me from my classes until December 3rd since they're aware that the one year anniversary of the deaths of my aunt and uncle are next week, and I will be staying with my former academic adviser since a few officers from the precinct that my uncle worked at invited me to go out to dinner with them in honor of my uncle." said Spencer.

"That's nice of them." said Hotch.

"They became uncles to me, and I actually got along with a few of their sons since uncle Gordon and I joined a few officers and their sons on father/son camping trips, paintball matches, and fishing trips like we did in Las Vegas." said Spencer.

"Plus it's good that you will be in New Haven during the one year anniversary of the day you met Clarissa." said Hotch with a small smile on his face.

At that moment Spencer took a deep breath.

"Speaking of the one year anniversary of the day that Clarissa and I met being next Friday, I would like your blessing to ask your little sister to marry me." said Spencer.

Hotch started asking Spencer certain questions, and after Spencer's answers pleased Hotch, Hotch looked at the young man he became fond of.

"You have my blessing to ask my baby sister to marry you." said Hotch.

"Thank you." sighed Spencer.

"And with how much she loves you, I doubt that she will say no." said Hotch.

Spencer relaxed a bit.

"I have the confidence that she will say yes." said Spencer.

"You have a ring?" asked Hotch.

Spencer reached for his messenger bag, pulled out a small jewelry box and showed Hotch the ring.

"My aunt and uncle saved my mother's engagement ring for when I found the girl that I want to marry." said Spencer.

Hotch looked at the ring.

"She's definitely going to be honored to wear your mother's engagement ring, and if you didn't have an engagement ring I would have given you the one that belonged to my mom." said Hotch as he reached into his gun safe and pulled out the ring and Spencer looked at it.

"Which ring do you think Clarissa would prefer?" asked Spencer.

"I think that she would most likely want to wear your mother's ring, but show her this ring after you propose to her and let her choose." said Hotch as he passed Spencer the ring.

"I will show her both, and I will let her choose after I ask her the big question." said Spencer.

"When are you planning on proposing to her?" asked Hotch.

"November 30th since it will be the one year anniversary of our first meeting, and I'm planning on proposing at the bench where she approached me." said Spencer.

"Haley would say that would be romantic." said Hotch.

"I know." said Spencer.

Hotch looked at the clock.

"We should head back downstairs since lunch will be done in a few minutes." said Hotch.

A few minutes later Spencer was eating lunch with Hotch, Haley, and Clarissa and Spencer looked at Haley.

"So how do you guys usually do Thanksgiving?" asked Spencer.

"Clarissa, my mom, Jessica, and I take care of cooking together while the men hang out in the living room." said Haley.

"Usually I would help my aunt and uncle cook Thanksgiving dinner." said Spencer.

Haley looked at Spencer.

"Even though you're a great cook, I'm not going to have you be in the kitchen since there's going to be girl talk." said Haley.

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The next day Clarissa was helping Haley, Jessica, and Mrs. Brooks cook Thanksgiving dinner.

"How are things going with Spencer?" asked Jessica.

"Things are going great, and he's spending all of next week in New Haven since it will be the one year anniversary of the deaths of his aunt and uncle." said Clarissa.

"Do you think he will ask you to marry him soon?" asked Haley.

"If he's going to propose to me, I wouldn't be surprised if he waits until after I finish nursing school in May." said Clarissa, not realizing she was wrong.

xxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile in the living room, Spencer was practicing the magic trick that he was going to do while he proposed to Clarissa just as Roy Brooks approached him and he noticed a vintage engagement ring.

"Is that an engagement ring?" asked a whispering Roy.

"It belonged to my mom, and I asked Hotch for his blessing so I'm practicing the trick I'm going to do when I propose." whispered Spencer.

"Now how about you show me some magic tricks that you have been learning since the last time we saw each other." said Roy as he thought about how he has bonded with the boyfriend of his son in law's baby sister through magic tricks.

Spencer grinned at the man who has been acting like a grandfather to him since Clarissa introduced him to her sister in law's father.

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An hour later Spencer and Clarissa were sitting next to each other at the dining room table with Hotch, Haley, Sean, Haley's parents, and Jessica talking and laughing over Thanksgiving dinner.

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Six days later Spencer entered the restaurant where a few officers were already waiting for him.

"Glad you could make it Spencer." said Detective Rodgers as he pulled Spencer into a hug.

"My professors at MIT excused me from their classes this week due to the one year anniversary." said Spencer.

"So how are you doing?" asked Detective Rodgers.

"I miss aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon, but I know that they would be very proud of me for not letting their deaths cause me to fall apart." said Spencer.

"I agree." said Sergeant Johnson.

"So how is it going at MIT?" asked Detective Rodgers.

"I'm passing all my chemistry classes, and my lab partner and I already caused three small explosions in one of their chemistry labs when an experiment went wrong." said Spencer, causing a few officers to laugh since they've been told stories about Spencer's chemistry experiments going wrong.

"And you still don't want to become a chemist instead of an FBI agent?" asked Sergeant Johnson as he thought about how since Spencer tutored his son on chemistry his son is working on a BA in the subject.

"Uncle Gordon was the one to insist that I go down the FBI route because he encouraged me to attend Agent Gideon's lecture, and the FBI already decided to waive the age requirement for me so I can join next May." said Spencer.

"Why didn't Clarissa come with you?" asked Detective Rodgers.

"She's working on a paper right now, and she told me that I should continue these dinner plans." said Spencer as a waitress came to take their orders.

20 minutes later Spencer was exchanging stories with Sergeant Johnson and Detective Rodgers about his uncle over their dinner.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two days later Spencer and Clarissa were walking towards the park they met at, and when Spencer found the bench he was sitting on when Clarissa approached him, he motioned for her to sit down.

"A year ago today you found me sitting on this bench when I was mourning the deaths of my aunt and uncle, and you didn't let me be alone since you insisted that I join you and your brother for lunch, starting one of the best years of my life." said Spencer as he knelt down causing Clarissa to gasp, "Would you continue making me a happy man by becoming my wife?" asked Spencer as he did a slight of hand trick with his mother's old engagement ring and made it appear out of plain sight.

At that moment a teary eyed Clarissa noticed a diamond ring in the palm of Spencer's hand.

"Yes." gasped Clarissa and tears streamed down her face as Spencer put the ring on the correct finger before they kissed each other despite people who were watching clapping and wolf whistling.

Spencer noticed Clarissa examining her engagement ring.

"It's my mother's engagement ring." said Spencer as he used his thumb to wipe the tears that were streaming down Clarissa's face.

"It's perfect." said Clarissa as she wiped tears that were falling off Spencer's face.

"I also have your mother's engagement ring because your brother gave it to me just in case." said Spencer as he pulled out the ring that belonged to Clarissa's mother.

"I prefer your mother's engagement ring, Spencer." said Clarissa as she gently kissed her fiancé on the lips, "I consider this ring as an early birthday present, so you don't need to get me anything big for when I turn 20 in 15 days."

"OK." said Spencer before realizing that with being engaged they should think about a date to get married, "When do you want to get married?"

"I want to finish school first, so how about November 30th of next year?" asked Clarissa.

"That date would be perfect." said Spencer.

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The day before Christmas Eve, Spencer and Clarissa entered Hotch's and Haley's house together, and after Haley hugged the engaged couple she looked at Clarissa.

"Since I couldn't make it up to New Haven for your birthday, please show me your engagement ring." said Haley.

Clarissa removed her winter gloves, and Haley gasped at the ring.

"It's beautiful." said Haley before looking at Spencer, "You definitely have good taste."

"It was my mother's engagement ring." said Spencer as he found the ring that Hotch gave him and passed it back to Hotch.

"Now Sean can use this ring if he finds a girl to marry." said Hotch as he looked at his younger brother.

"I just want to stay single for as long as I can." said Sean.

20 minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were eating lunch with Hotch, Haley, and Sean when Haley looked at the two 20 year olds.

"Have you two set a date yet?" asked Haley.

"November 30th of next year." said Clarissa.

"Are you two getting married in a church or a court house?" asked Haley.

"We decided on a church wedding because I want to have that fairytale wedding that I always dreamed of." said Clarissa.

"With the wedding being nearly 11 months away, why don't you two let me handle the planning so you can focus on college for now." said Haley.

"OK." said Spencer and Clarissa in unison.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

An hour later Haley took Clarissa into her bedroom and pulled a garment bag out of the closet.

"When your mother died, I found her wedding dress when I helped Aaron go through the house and I think you should try it on." said Haley.

"OK." said Clarissa.

10 minutes later Clarissa was standing in front of a mirror wearing her mother's wedding dress, and Clarissa looked at Haley who had tears streaming down her face.

"You look beautiful in that dress." said Haley.

"I have to say that it's perfect, and I can't wait to have Spencer see it on me." said Clarissa as she twirled around in the dress.

Haley helped Clarissa get out of her mother's wedding dress, and when Clarissa was back in her normal clothes Haley looked at her.

"At least we have a few things done, but for now finishing up nursing school is more important before you join Spencer in Cambridge." said Haley.

"I know, and it shouldn't be a problem being separated for one more semester since we both handled being separated for the fall semester just fine." said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Haley and Clarissa joined the men downstairs, and Clarissa looked at her fiancé.

"I have the perfect wedding dress already, but for now we need to focus on our second Christmas together." said Clarissa.

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A few days later Spencer and Clarissa shared a kiss at midnight while saying Happy New Year to each other.


	9. The Wedding November 30th 2002

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the length of Spencer's hair in this chapter think about the length Spencer's hair was in season 7's episode Hope.  
> Here's what Clarissa's wedding dress looks like even though it's a vintage dress from the 1950's. In order to see a picture of the dress, please ignore the spaces when typing in this link, and the dress has short sleeves and is floor length.
> 
> chicvintage / wp-content/uploads/ 2013/09/14
> 
> This chapter takes place nearly a year later on November 29th and 30th of 2002. Spencer's now 21 and Clarissa's 15 days from turning 21, and I was told that even though Clarissa is almost 21 she would have the OK to have one glass of champagne for the toast before doing non alcoholic beverages for the rest of the day/night since her oldest brother would give her permission.
> 
> Let's just say that Clarissa's a Christian and Spencer's Catholic, and they decided to get married in Clarissa's childhood church.

The night before the wedding Spencer was sitting in his bedroom at his godparents house looking at a picture of himself at four years old when Alex knocked on the open door.

"May I come in Spencer?" asked Alex.

"Sure." said Spencer.

Alex joined her godson on his bed and looked at the photo that Spencer was looking at.

"They will be watching you from above tomorrow with your aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon." said Alex as she smoothed down her godson's much shorter hair, "Are you nervous about tomorrow?"

"I am, but I'm glad that I'm taking this path with Clarissa since I want to spend the rest of my life with her." said Spencer before yawning.

"Think about getting some sleep before your big day tomorrow." said Alex as she gave her godson a kiss on the forehead before leaving his bedroom and heading to the wall where there were photos of Spencer with her late son together as kids while thinking about how glad she was having the honor of being mother of the groom for Spencer.

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Meanwhile at Hotch and Haley's Clarissa was sitting on the back porch looking at the stars when Hotch joined her.

"Nervous about tomorrow?" asked Hotch.

"I am, but I'm glad that I get to spend the rest of my life with Spencer." said Clarissa.

"I just can't believe that you will be Mrs. Clarissa Reid tomorrow." said Hotch.

"But I will always be a Hotchner." smiled Clarissa.

"I know." said Hotch before they started to talk about Clarissa's antics as a child before they headed to bed themselves.

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The following day at 12:30 PM Spencer stood in the room where he was told to wait with his best friend from childhood and fellow genius Ethan Hyde when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." called Spencer.

Alex and James stepped into the room.

"Now there's my godson." said Alex as she took in the sight of her late best friend's son dressed in a tuxedo for his wedding day.

"I'm glad that you offered to be mother of the groom for me, Alex." said Spencer as he hugged his godmother.

"I'm the reason why your parents met, and I was your mom's maid of honor." said Alex.

At that moment James reached out and straightened his godson's black bow tie before Alex and James spent the next 10 minutes giving Spencer advice about saying his vows.

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Meanwhile in the bridal suite, Clarissa was standing in front of the mirror in her late mother's wedding dress, and her dark brown hair was pulled into a curly half up and half down hairstyle when Haley looked at Clarissa.

"With your mom's wedding dress being something old, the tiara is something borrowed from me, the necklace that you're wearing is something new from Alex, what's your something blue?" asked Haley.

Clarissa smirked as she lifted the skirt of her wedding dress, and Haley chuckled at the blue converse sneakers that Clarissa was sporting.

"That works." said Haley.

At that moment there was a knock on the door, and Haley quickly looked to see her husband.

"Come in Aaron." said Haley.

Aaron came into the room and saw his baby sister dressed for her wedding day.

"Mom would have loved to see you like this today." said Hotch as he hugged Clarissa.

"I know." said Clarissa as a tear fell down her face.

"It's a good thing I decided that you would wear waterproof make up." said Haley as she left the room so the brother and sister could have time alone.

xxxxxxxxxxx

20 minutes later Ethan looked at Spencer as they stood in front of the church since the ceremony was about to start, and Spencer smiled softly at how many friends he made at Yale and MIT have made it to the wedding.

"Nervous?" asked Ethan.

"Yeah, but I know that I will be leaving this church with the most beautiful girl in the world who will be my wife." said Spencer.

"At least you will get to enjoy married life for five months before we're required to report to Quantico together for the academy." said Ethan.

"I know." said Spencer.

At that moment the music started, and after watching Clarissa's maid of honor and best friend Jasmine from high school walk down the aisle, 10 seconds later Spencer's eyes went wide when he saw Clarissa coming through the doors in a simple vintage short sleeved floor length wedding dress that he assumed was from the 1950's since Clarissa mentioned that her dress belonged to her mom.

"Breathe, Spencer." murmured Ethan.

Two minutes later Clarissa and Hotch approached them, and Hotch shook Spencer's hand.

"Take good care of her." whispered Hotch before he went to join Haley and Sean in the front pew.

A few seconds later Spencer and Clarissa were facing each other while their hands were clasped together, and a few seconds later the priest looked at everyone who was now sitting down.

"We are gathered here today in the sight of God, and the presence of friends and loved ones, to celebrate one of life's greatest moments. We are here to give recognition to the worth and beauty of love, and to add our best wishes and blessings to the words that will unite Spencer and Clarissa in holy matrimony." started the minister.

The minister looked at the audience.

"Who gives Clarissa to be married?" asked the minister.

Hotch spoke up.

"I do." said Hotch.

"Spencer and Clarissa, marriage is the most important of all earthly relationships. It should be entered into reverently, thoughtfully and with full understanding of its sacred nature. Your marriage must stand by the strength of your love and the power of faith in each other and in God. Just as two threads woven in opposite directions form a beautiful tapestry, so to your two lives when merged together will make a beautiful marriage." said the minister and he took a deep breath before reciting a prayer, "Love is very patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud. Love is never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable or tough. Love does not hold grudges and will hardly notice when others do it wrong. Love is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out. If you love someone, you will be loyal to them no matter what the costs. You will be always believe in them, always expect the best in them, and will always stand your ground in defending them." said the minister.

At that moment the minister looked at the guests.

"Spencer and Clarissa decided to write their own vows." said the minister before looking at Spencer, "You may go first Spencer."

Spencer took a deep breath.

"When we met two years ago today I was dealing with one of the worst moments of my life since the two people who raised me for nearly 15 years when I became an orphan were taken away from me. You helped me get through the grief by helping me pack up the house I spent my teenage years in while allowing me to hold your hand during the funeral, and a few weeks after the funeral I knew that I wanted something more with you since I was told that I would know it when I find my soul mate. You gave me a reason to smile and laugh again while thinking about my own future." said Spencer as he wiped a tear that was streaming down his face before continuing, "I never thought that with being a genius with an IQ of 187, an eidetic memory, and a timed reading speed of 20,000 words per minute I would ever find love, but fate brought us together causing us to form a strong bond. I promise that you will be my one and only true love, and I will be there for you during the good times and bad times like you were for me these past two years."

Spencer nodded at the minister as he wiped the happy tears that were falling down Clarissa's face and noticed the tears streaming down his godmother's and Haley's faces.

"Clarissa you may state your vows." said the minister.

Clarissa looked at Spencer.

"Two years ago today I saw you sitting on that bench looking sad, and I instantly knew that you needed a friend since you were dealing with a horrible tragedy. You traveled down to New Haven from Cambridge so I could cry on your shoulder after hearing about the lives that were lost during September 11th of last year or when the children I helped take care of lost their battles. Even though I might not be a genius with an IQ of 187 and an eidetic memory like you do, I will always cherish everything I learn from you since I enjoy your ramblings." said Clarissa as she gained a few chuckles before she continued, "I promise that I will continue being there through the good and bad times, help you smile and laugh when you're feeling down while getting you to continue to try out new things."

The minister looked at Spencer.

"Spencer, do you take Clarissa to be your wife?" asked the minister.

Spencer looked into Clarissa's eyes.

"I do." said Spencer.

"Do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect her, forsaking all others and holding onto her forever more?" asked the minister.

"I do." said Spencer.

The minister looked at Clarissa.

"Clarissa, do you take Spencer to be your husband?" asked the minister.

"I do." said Clarissa.

"Do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect him, forsaking all others and holding onto him forever more?" asked the minister.

"I do." said Clarissa.

The minister looked at Ethan.

"May I please have the rings." said the minister.

Ethan handed the minster the rings, and the minister looked at everyone as he held up the rings.

"The ring is a symbol of the unbroken circle of love. Love freely given has no beginning and no end, no giver and no receiver for each is the giver and each is the receiver. May these rings always remind you of the vows you have taken." said the minister before he handed Spencer Clarissa's wedding band while telling him what to say before Spencer repeated it.

"I Spencer, take thee, Clarissa to be my wife. To have and hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, in joy and sorrow, and I promise my love to you. With this ring I take you as my wife, for as long as we both shall live." said Spencer before he slipped the wedding band onto Clarissa's left ring finger.

At that moment the minister passed Spencer's wedding band to Clarissa and told her what to say before Clarissa repeated it.

"I Clarissa, take thee, Spencer, to be my husband. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, in joy and sorrow, and I promise my love to you. And with this ring, I take you as my husband, for as long as we both shall live." said Clarissa before she slid Spencer's wedding band onto his left ring finger.

The minister looked at the young couple who both had happy tears streaming down their faces.

"By the power vested in me I now pronounce you husband and wife." said the minister before looking at Spencer, "Spencer you may kiss your bride."

Spencer gently lifted up Clarissa's veil before he pulled her into a gentle but long kiss as all their guests clapped for the newly married couple before they walked to the room there were told to wait while their guests lined up to greet them.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer and Clarissa were thanking their guests for attending, and Spencer's eyes went wide when David Rossi approached them.

"I'm so glad you made it, Dave." said Clarissa as she hugged her oldest brother's former coworker.

"When you called to invite me to the wedding I couldn't object meeting the man who made an honest woman out of you." said Rossi before looking at Spencer, "I'm David Rossi." said Rossi as he shook hands with a star struck Spencer.

"It's an honor to meet you, sir. I read your first book, and I believe you once worked with my late uncle Gordon Tucker." said Spencer.

At that moment Rossi instantly remembered Spencer's uncle while thinking about a news article that he read two years ago about Gordon and Ethel Tucker being killed by a drunk driver.

"I've worked with him before, and I'm sorry for your loss." said Rossi before looking at the newly married couple, "Just so you know I was the one to pay for the catering and the DJ for tonight's reception."

"You didn't have to, Dave." said Clarissa.

"It's my wedding gift for you two." said Rossi before walking away so other guests could congratulate the newly wedded couple before they got into the limo that would take them to a few places where they were going to get their pictures taken before heading to the Washington Plaza Hotel where the reception would take place before Spencer and Clarissa spent the night in the honeymoon suite before they board their flight to Cambridge.

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A few hours later Spencer and Clarissa shook their head when a bunch of guests started clinking their knives to their glasses, causing the young couple to stop eating their dinner and kiss.

"It seems like no one wants us to eat." teased Clarissa.

"I know." grinned Spencer before he kissed his wife again.

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A short while later Spencer and Clarissa were each holding a small piece of cake, Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Let's feed each other at the same time." said Clarissa.

"OK." said Spencer.

A few seconds later everyone was cheering when Spencer and Clarissa got frosting on each other's faces, and after kissing the frosting off each other's lips Clarissa giggled at her husband.

"It's a good thing you opted for your contacts today." said Clarissa.

"I know." said Spencer before he swooped Clarissa into another kiss causing a few wolf whistles from a few former classmates from Yale and current classmates from MIT.

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After everything from dinner and cake was cleaned up, the DJ who was finally set up for the night looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"Now it's time for the bride's and groom's first dance as a married couple." said the DJ.

A minute later Spencer and Clarissa were standing on the middle of the empty dance floor, and as soon as the opening chords of "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis Presley started playing, Spencer started leading Clarissa on the dance floor while they made eye contact the entire time, and when the song was over Clarissa stood on her tip toes a bit and whispered in Spencer's ear.

"I'm glad we decided to do "Can't Help Falling in Love" as our first dance." said Clarissa.

"My parents danced to that song during their first dance as husband and wife." said Spencer.

"Let's pick things up a bit so anyone else who wants to dance come onto the dance floor." said the DJ as he started playing "You're My Best Friend" by Queen.

Spencer started leading Clarissa in a bit of a faster pace as other guests joined them on the dance floor, and after dancing to a few songs together, Hotch stepped up to dance with Clarissa while Spencer danced with Haley.

"That song was a beautiful choice for your first dance." said Haley.

"My parents danced to "Can't Help Falling in Love" as their first dance as husband and wife so we decided to honor them." said Spencer before he twirled the wife of his new brother-in-law on the dance floor.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer and Clarissa were both taking a break from dancing so they could watch their guests dance on the dance floor when Rossi joined them at the table and looked at Spencer.

"Jason and Aaron mentioned that you're entering the FBI academy next May after you earn your third PhD." said Rossi as he thought about what Gideon told him about Spencer's qualifications and how he would be a good fit for the BAU.

"I'm excited and nervous since I saw what working for law enforcement did to my uncle since there were cases that haunted him." said Spencer.

"And having Clarissa to go home to will help you deal with the horrors you will see." said Rossi.

"I know." said Spencer.

"So when are you two going on your honeymoon?" asked Rossi.

"We're going to the Bahamas after Christmas because I have to go back to work on Monday and Spencer has classes to finish up this semester." said Clarissa.

Rossi looked at Spencer.

"Mind if I steal your beautiful wife for a dance?" asked Rossi.

"Go ahead." said Spencer.

Rossi helped Clarissa stand up, and a minute later Hotch was sitting by him.

"So what do you think of Dave?" asked Hotch.

"I'm glad that I finally got to meet him." said Spencer.

"I'll be separated from Clarissa for about six more months before you two move down here so you can get started at the academy." said Hotch.

"Clarissa mentioned about her staying with you and Haley, and after I find out my posting we will move wherever I'm placed and buy a house together." said Spencer.

"Clarissa told me that last night, and you're required to stay in the dorms until after graduation." said Hotch.

"I know, but I know that everything will work out because Clarissa and I handled spending the first six months of our engagement in separate states." said Spencer as Rossi and Clarissa came back, and less than a minute later Spencer and Clarissa were dancing with each other again.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer carried Clarissa into their honeymoon suite, and a minute later Spencer was helping Clarissa get out of her wedding dress before she helped Spencer get out of his tuxedo, and Clarissa smirked when Spencer was eying her body.

"Ready for our first time having sex?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer nodded, and a minute later they were making love for the very first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't write sex scenes.


	10. January 2003 through May 2003

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided not to write about Spencer's and Clarissa's honeymoon, and you readers can imagine these activities that Spencer and Clarissa did: all the trips to the beach, snorkeling, visiting historic towns, and lots of sex.
> 
> Spencer and Clarissa live in a one bedroom apartment a blocks away from MIT that MIT provided for Spencer in his full academic scholarship.
> 
> Ethel had a sister named Elena Brown who is currently institutionalized for paranoid schizophrenia that was caused by a drug addiction, and with there being no surviving family left, Spencer decided to take care of his adoptive aunt's care which Clarissa supports. And Elena was Diana's teaching assistant when she was alive, and became Diana's replacement after she died.

January

A few days after the spring semester started, Spencer and Clarissa were walking through a pet expo and Clarissa gasped when she saw a white Maine Coon kitten. She looked at her husband.

"Can we please get a kitten?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer looked at the tag.

"It's a Maine Coon, and that breed is known for getting large." said Spencer as the kitten batted its paw out of the cage.

"You are so cute." cooed Clarissa as she petted the kitten causing it to purr, "Please pet the kitten."

Spencer slowly reached out to the kitten, and the kitten surprised him by licking his finger when a sales associate came forward.

"He hasn't liked anyone petting him until you two came forward." said the associate when he noticed the wedding band or bridal set that the young couple were sporting, telling him that they're newlyweds, "Getting your first pet together as a married couple?"

"We are since we want to wait a few months before trying for our first baby, and we decided on a cat." said Clarissa.

"Would you like to adopt that Maine Coon?" asked the associate.

"Yes please." said Spencer.

20 minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were leaving the expo with supplies and their new kitten that they ended up naming Merton after Thomas Merton.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two weeks later Spencer and Clarissa woke up to the 6 AM alarm on Spencer's cellphone to seeing the power out and their bedroom a lot colder, causing them to look out the window.

"Damn." said Clarissa as she noticed all the snow on the ground.

"I'm use to snowstorms like this, and at least we prepared ourselves for this one." said Spencer as he thought back to how they stocked up on non perishables and blankets.

"Just think about the possibility of going sledding after this blizzard is over." said Clarissa as she thought back to the times they went sledding since meeting each other.

Spencer laughed.

"Or think about how we could keep each other warm." teased Clarissa as she winked at her husband, causing Spencer to groan when he felt his body reacting.

At that moment bedroom plans were diminished when Spencer's stomach growled causing, Clarissa to giggle.

"We should probably fuel ourselves first so we can have calories to burn off when we make love to keep ourselves warm." teased Clarissa as she led her husband to the kitchen, "Well its a good thing that we have a gas stove."

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were working on making scrambled eggs, bacon, and homemade shredded hash browns for breakfast before Clarissa decided to sit on her husband's lap while they ate, and when Clarissa shifted Spencer groaned.

"You're so going to get it when we're done eating." growled Spencer

"Promises, promises." purred Clarissa as she shifted again, causing her husband to groan.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

February

Spencer and Clarissa exited the movie theater after seeing "Kangaroo Jack", and Clarissa looked at Spencer.

"That movie was extremely funny." said Clarissa.

"I actually have to agree." said Spencer.

"Should we go to our favorite diner before heading to our apartment to continue celebrating our first Valentines Day as a married couple even more since we don't have work or school tomorrow?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes." said Spencer..

10 minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were sitting in their usual booth ordering burgers, milkshakes, and fries.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

90 minutes later Spencer gulped when he saw Clarissa's red lingerie set, and he looked at his wife.

"Have I ever told you that I love seeing you in red?" asked Spencer as he felt his body reacting to Clarissa's lingerie.

"Countless times." smirked Clarissa as she removed her husband's shirt, and a few minutes later they were making out in bed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A month later Clarissa looked at her husband as they sat down to eat the breakfast they cooked together.

"I got the week off for your spring break, so I was thinking that we can finally go on that promised trip to Las Vegas." said Clarissa.

"Vegas will do because I haven't been there since three months before aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon died, and that means I can go visit aunt Ethel's sister at Bennington Sanitarium." said Spencer.

"Why have you never taken it upon yourself to visit Elena after the deaths of your aunt and uncle?" asked Clarissa as she thought about meeting Elena at the funeral.

"I felt guilty having aunt Ethel leave her sister so I could attend Yale, and aunt Elena sometimes thinks that aunt Ethel is still alive when she's having an episode." said Spencer before looking at his watch, "You have work in an hour and I have class in 30 minutes so I have to get going."

"Should we make chicken stir fry for dinner tonight?" asked Clarissa.

"Sure." said Spencer as he got up and placed his empty plate in the sink.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two weeks later Spencer and Clarissa got out of their rental car, and a few minutes later they were entering Bennington Sanitarium where Dr. Jesson instantly approached them.

"It's been over two and a half years since you showed up, Dr. Reid." said Dr. Jesson before looking at Clarissa, "You must be Clarissa Reid since Elena showed me pictures from the wedding."

"I am." said Clarissa.

"How is aunt Elena doing?" asked Spencer.

"When it comes to schizophrenia, she has good days and bad days, but your daily letters help her since you tell her the adventures you two have while writing about happy memories you had with Ethel to help her remember that her big sister is gone." said Dr. Jesson.

"She was my mom's teaching assistant before my parents were killed, and she's all I have left from my aunt Ethel." said Spencer.

"Well she will be glad that you were finally able to make it in person since she's been wanting to see you, and I need to talk to you about medication." said Dr. Jesson.

"I will track you down after I'm done visiting aunt Elena." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were sitting across from Elena, and Elena looked at her adoptive nephew.

"So why are you finally visiting me despite the phone calls we've had since Ethel died?" asked Elena.

Spencer sighed in relief, knowing that his adoptive aunt was currently lucid.

"I thought that I should let you know that I'm entering the FBI Academy in May." said Spencer.

"You're really becoming one of them?" asked Elena.

Spencer sighed, knowing that his adoptive aunt hated the government.

"I will be doing good for this country, and think about all the lives I can save while working for the FBI." said Spencer.

"I wish that you would have became a professor like your mom was." said Elena.

"I know, but as soon as Clarissa and I get a house I will make sure that you have my address." said Spencer.

At that moment Elena quickly remembered Spencer's and Clarissa's cat.

"So what's new with your kitten Merton?" asked Elena.

Spencer and Clarissa took turns telling Elena about Merton's antics, and 10 minutes into the conversation Elena spoke.

"Are you two here for my lecture?" asked Elena.

Spencer played into his aunt's delusion causing Clarissa to join in, and a few minutes later Spencer was meeting with Dr. Jesson before they left the hospital to go eat lunch at one of Spencer's favorite diners.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer and Clarissa were standing in front of the graves of Diana and William Reid.

"Hi mom. Hi dad. Last month was the 17th anniversary of your deaths, and by now you two are watching me with aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon who both died over two years ago." said Spencer as he wiped his tears, "I thought I should let you two know that I'm OK since I got married last November to one of the most beautiful girls in the world, and I think that if you guys were alive you two would have loved Clarissa. I'm two months away from earning my third PhD, and after graduation Clarissa and I are moving down to DC since I got into the FBI Academy since I decided to become an FBI agent."

For the next 20 minutes Spencer told his parents about the past couple of years before he and Clarissa headed back to their rental car, and when they were about to leave the cemetery, Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Want to go try out the casinos?" asked Clarissa.

"With my card counting abilities I would probably end up getting blacklisted within an hour, but I guess we can go so I can make sure that aunt Elena's medical care gets covered for a really long time." said Spencer..

"If you get banned from casinos I won't say a word since we're at a legal age to gamble." said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A month later Clarissa was cleaning out her locker when her mentor walked by with coffee, causing her to sprint off to the bathroom, and a few seconds later her mentor was holding back her hair. A few minutes later Clarissa was brushing her teeth while Nurse Jolene smirked at her.

"I take it that you have a bun in the oven since my coffee caused you to deal with morning sickness." said Jolene.

Clarissa's eyes widened as she looked at her mentor.

"It's been over two months since my last period." said Clarissa.

"Let me contact the maternity ward and see if the on call gynecologist can squeeze you in since you're moving to DC in three days, and that means you have a good graduation gift for your husband." said Jolene.

An hour later Clarissa was allowing happy ears to stream down her face as she was told that she's currently eight weeks pregnant before allowing a transvaginal ultrasound to be performed and got prescribed anti-nausea medication.

xxxxxxxx

Two days later Spencer smiled when he heard Clarissa, Haley, Hotch, Gideon, and Alex all cheering for him in the audience as he received his third PhD, and as soon as the ceremony was over he made his way towards Clarissa who ran into his arms.

"We are so going to celebrate later." said Clarissa as she thought about the celebration they were also going to have when she tells him that she's pregnant.

"I know." said Spencer

At that moment Gideon looked at him.

"Ready to start at the academy next week?" asked Gideon.

"I am." said Spencer.

"How much more packing do you two have to do?" asked Haley as she thought about Clarissa calling her and Aaron two days ago to tell them that they were going to be having their first niece or nephew.

"We only a few more boxes to pack up, and we're driving down to DC tomorrow." said Clarissa.

"Have you heard back from Children's National?" asked Hotch.

"I got the job." beamed Clarissa.

"Well let's go out to eat to celebrate before we leave you two kids to finish packing your apartment." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Four hours later Spencer and Clarissa taped up the last box when Clarissa handed Spencer a sealed envelope.

"Congratulations." said Clarissa as she smiled at her husband.

Spencer opened up the card and gasped when he saw an ultrasound photo with a note.

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR PHD IN CHEMISTRY DADDY. MOMMY TOLD ME THAT YOU WILL TEACH ME A LOT ABOUT MATHEMATICS AND ENGINEERING WHILE SHOWING ME AN ARRAY OF MAGIC TRICKS THAT WILL GET ME TO SMILE AND LAUGH.  
YOU SHOULD BE HOLDING ME BY DECEMBER 31ST DADDY, SO I CAN'T WAIT TO MEET YOU AND MOMMY.

LOVE,  
BABY REID

Spencer looked at his wife as happy tears streamed down his face.

"Really?" asked Spencer.

"I'm eight weeks pregnant and you are going to be a great dad." smiled Clarissa as she kissed her husband.

As soon as Spencer broke out of their kiss, he quickly thought about his future with the FBI.

"What about me starting at the academy next week?" asked Spencer.

"I don't want you to stop following your dreams because of me being pregnant, and you are only going to be missing five months of this pregnancy." said Clarissa.

"I won't quit my dream, but I'm sad that I will be missing out five months of this pregnancy since I am required to stay on base." said Spencer.

"I will be OK because I'll staying with Aaron and Haley the entire time, and Haley is already planning on attending every doctor appointment with me. I will send you letters with ultrasound photos." said Clarissa.

"OK." said Spencer.

"And when you graduate from the academy and receive your posting, we will buy a house with a fenced in backyard together since we have the money." said Clarissa a she thought about the trust funds they have since they were both orphans.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were celebrating the next step of their lives while knowing that it was going to be over 20 weeks before they made love again.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A week later Spencer was entering the dorms while knowing that Clarissa will be taken care of by Hotch and Haley.


	11. First Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place 20 weeks after the last chapter meaning that Spencer graduated from the academy on October 11th of 2003 in the beginning of this chapter and Gideon decided to have Spencer take over a week to find a house and get him and Clarissa moved into it despite all the decorating that needs to be done.
> 
> Spencer and Clarissa are able to afford the house that they ended up buying without getting a loan because Spencer's aunt and uncle started a trust fund for Spencer after his parents death and after Ethel and Gordon died the trust fund increased since Gordon's lawyer recommended that he should put the money from selling the house into that trust fund since he was only 19.
> 
> Morgan will be a bit more welcoming to Spencer than the OC who will eventually die in the Boston Bombings in this story.
> 
> Spencer didn't need any waivers for the physical portion training part of the academy since he worked out regularly with Clarissa when they were dating and got married.

Spencer set his suitcases on the Hotchner living room floor, and a minute later he was being hugged and kissed by his nearly 29 week pregnant wife.

"Our daughter and I both missed you over the past 20 weeks." said Clarissa.

Spencer rested his hands on Clarissa's swollen belly and smiled when he felt his daughter kick for the first time before kicking a few more times.

"I missed the both of you, and like I told you in my letters, I'm happy that we're having a little girl." smiled Spencer as he felt another kick.

"She's already a daddy's girl." said Clarissa before looking at her husband's twinkling eyes, "Since I couldn't attend your graduation because of getting called in, what's your posting because Aaron has been tight lipped?"

"I'm assigned to your brother's team meaning that you get to continue working at Children's National while I work at Quantico." said Spencer.

Clarissa kissed her husband.

"That's great, but how long do we have until your first day in the BAU?" asked Clarissa.

"I start on the 20th." said Spencer as he felt his daughter kick again.

Clarissa headed towards her laptop, and a minute later she was showing her husband a picture of one of the houses she decided to look at.

"When I went on daily walks, I found a nice five bedroom Victorian house that's still on the market." said Clarissa as she started telling her husband about the house and how one of the rooms can easily become a library, "With our trust funds we should be able to get the house if an offer hasn't been made yet."

Spencer noticed that the house was only two blocks away from their current location.

"You toured the house yet?" asked Spencer.

"I have because I had faith that you would get into the BAU." said Clarissa.

"Based on what you told me about the house, can you see if we can tour it?" asked Spencer.

"Let me call the realtor." said Clarissa as she whipped out her cellphone and called the relator, and a few minutes later she was smiling at her husband, "She's willing to see us in a half hour."

xxxxxxxxxxxx

A half hour later Spencer and Clarissa were entering the house with the realtor, and a half hour after the tour Spencer and Clarissa were giving the realtor an offer before being told that they got the house and they would need to wait two days before moving in so an inspector could look at it.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Two Mondays later Spencer groaned when the alarm clock went off, and after turning off the alarm and slipping on his glasses he turned so he could smile at his 30 week pregnant wife.

"Ready for your first day at the BAU as a probationary agent?" asked Clarissa as she thought about how her brother, sister-in-law, and Gideon joined them for dinner and her brother and Gideon ended up talking to her husband about his probationary period when they were helping with unpacking.

"I am, but at least we have most of our belongings unpacked and Diana's nursery done." said Spencer.

"Speaking of decorating, are you going to put any pictures of us on your desk?" asked Clarissa as she got ready for the day.

"I'm only putting pictures from my childhood on my desk because it was decided by the Director, Strauss, Hotch, Gideon, and I that we don't mention our status as brother-in-law inside the office since there will be agents who will think that I got into the BAU for nepotism if anyone finds out that I'm married to Gideon's second in command's baby sister." said Spencer as he handed Clarissa his tie.

"Makes sense since you're now the youngest FBI agent ever." said Clarissa as she helped her husband put his tie on before noticing Spencer's wedding band being kept on a chain around his neck.

A minute later Clarissa was straightening the lapels of her husband's suit jacket, and before they knew it they were downstairs making breakfast together before Gideon arrived to pick him up for his first day at the BAU.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer stepped into the bullpen of the BAU with Gideon, and he followed Gideon towards two agents who were already working at their desks.

"Derek Morgan and Trevor Johnson. I would like to introduce you two to our newest team member, SSA Dr. Spencer Reid." said Gideon as he told the two older agents Spencer's IQ, what type of memory he had, his timed reading speed, and his degrees.

"How old are you?" asked Morgan.

"I'm 22." said Spencer quietly before noticing the shocked looks on Morgan's and Trevor's faces.

Gideon looked at his protégé.

"We need to go over some paperwork in my office, and your training officer Agent Hotchner will be joining us." said Gideon.

A minute later Spencer and Gideon were in Gideon's office, and Trevor looked at Morgan just as Hotch walked into the office and closed the blinds.

"You've got to be kidding me." muttered Trevor, causing Morgan to nod in agreement while thinking about what type of past that Spencer had would lead him to join the FBI and become a profiler.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile in Gideon's office Spencer, Gideon, and Hotch were sitting in Gideon's office with the blinds closed, and Hotch looked at Spencer.

"How's Clarissa this morning?" asked Hotch.

"She's doing OK for being in the third trimester, and Diana has been kicking away." said Spencer.

Gideon looked at Hotch and Spencer.

"You two do know that you promised to keep your relationship as brothers in law outside the office." said Gideon

"We know." said Hotch before noticing the lack of wedding band on Spencer's left ring finger, "Still wearing your wedding band on that chain around your neck?"

Spencer reached for the chain around his neck to show the gold wedding band before slipping it back underneath his shirt.

"Strauss said that she would keep my marital status information in her office while keeping it off the digital database." said Spencer as he signed the required paperwork that he had to fill out.

"And hopefully the three of us can keep your marital status a secret for a couple of years unless something serious happens to you." said Gideon before he decided to show Spencer his desk so he could set up and get started on consults.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

An hour after watching Spencer work on his consults, Morgan looked at Spencer who was working with his head down, making him decide to get to know his new teammate a little bit.

"Where are you from?" asked Morgan.

Spencer briefly looked up, causing Morgan to wonder if Spencer even has contact lenses based on how big his glasses were before Spencer looked down again.

"I lived in three different states before joining the FBI." said Spencer.

"Which states have you grown up in?" asked Morgan before he decided to go first, "I'm from Chicago, Illinois."

"Las Vegas, Nevada for the first 12 years of my life. After graduating high school at 12 I moved to New Haven, Connecticut to attend Yale for seven years. The summer after earning my second PhD I moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts to attend MIT for two years." said Spencer.

"What about family?" asked Morgan.

Spencer sighed sadly, causing Morgan to look at his new teammate.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." said Morgan.

"I became an orphan when I was four years old." said Spencer.

"What happened?" asked Morgan.

"My parents and my dad's younger brother were killed by a drunk driver, and I avoided foster care because my maternal uncle and his wife adopted me." said Spencer as he took a deep breath before adding, "When I was 19 my aunt and uncle were killed by a drunk driver."

"I'm sorry." said Morgan as he thought about how well adjusted Spencer was despite all the tragedy he faced, making him realize that his academic adviser most likely sent him to therapy.

"What were your parents, aunt, and uncle's professions until their deaths?" asked Morgan.

"My mom was a 15th century literature professor, my dad was a lawyer, my aunt was a caterer, and my uncle was a police officer." said Spencer.

"My dad was a police officer who died in the line of duty." said Morgan as he realized that he had something in common with his new coworker, "How did your aunt and uncle die?" asked Morgan as he thought about how his dad died right in front of him.

"My aunt and uncle went to New York City to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary, and when they were driving back from New York City a drunk driver hit them leaving no survivors. Apparently the drunk driver was getting revenge on my uncle since my uncle shot and killed his brother." said Spencer.

"Damn." whistled Morgan.

"My uncle was the one to teach me how to shoot a gun since he was one of the best sharp shooters in Nevada and Connecticut." said Spencer.

"So your uncle was hoping that you eventually join the FBI?" asked Morgan.

"He recommended that I attend Gideon's lecture at Yale after I was approached by the CIA for the third time, and my uncle actually worked with Gideon a few times." said Spencer.

"What about grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, or cousins?" asked Morgan.

"No surviving grandparents, I don't have any siblings or cousins." said Spencer as he decided to avoid mentioning his aunt Elena before smiling slightly, "I'm in regular contact with my godparents since they reside in DC."  
Morgan decided not to ask about girlfriends, fiancée , or wives since he thought that being 22 and joining the FBI right out of college probably meant that he didn't have a girlfriend that would support his move to Quantico.

"Since you're close to your godparents, are you spending the upcoming holidays with them?" asked Morgan.

"I am spending Thanksgiving and Christmas with a few friends from college who ended up moving to DC." said Spencer.

"That's nice. So what are you planning on doing this weekend in DC if we don't have a case?" asked Morgan.

"Finish unpacking because I'm almost done unpacking everything in the house that I bought." said Spencer.

"You bought a house instead of renting an apartment?" asked Morgan.

"After my parents death my aunt and uncle started a trust fund for me that I was able to access after turning 21, and with all the books I currently own I knew that a house would be a good idea." said Spencer as he continued to work on his consults while avoiding eye contact.

"So other than reading, what do you like to do for fun?" asked Morgan.

"After my parents death my aunt and uncle signed me up for music lessons to help distract me and I ended up mastering the piano, violin, and cello like my mom." said Spencer.

"So you only like classical music?" asked Morgan.

"Pretty much." said Spencer.

Morgan made a mental note to teach Spencer about Nas.

"What about sports?" asked Morgan as he decided to go first, "I played football at Northwestern."

"I enjoy horseback riding, and I actually ended up competing and won a few medals and trophies." said Spencer.

"So are you going to continue horseback riding on your days off?" asked Morgan.

"I'm already planning on it because I can't let my southwestern roots go." said Spencer as he avoided eye contact.

At that moment Trevor, who was listening in while not contributing decided to speak up about something he noticed.

"Are you on the autism spectrum?" asked Trevor.

Spencer stiffened as he looked at Trevor.

"I was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome when I was 12 years old, and both Hotch and Gideon already know since they've read my school records." said Spencer as he noticed Hotch and Gideon staring at them from their offices causing, him to focus on his work, "We should all get to work since Hotch and Gideon are watching us."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer was buried in his consults when he felt an unfamiliar hand on his shoulder, causing him to flinch.

"Please don't touch me." said Spencer as he quickly got up from his desk chair and backed away.

"OK kid." said Morgan as he took a few steps back while Hotch and Gideon approached them.

"You OK, Reid?" asked Hotch as he gently placed a hand on Spencer's shoulder to help ease the tension.

Both Morgan and Trevor noticed that Spencer didn't even flinch when Hotch rested a hand on Spencer's shoulder, realizing that with their new teammate working with Hotch in the academy, he was comfortable with him.

"Yeah." said Spencer before looking at Morgan as Hotch removed his hand from Spencer's shoulder, "Why were you trying to get my attention?"

At that moment both Morgan and Trevor noticed a bit of fear in Spencer's eyes.

"I was going to tell you that it's lunchtime." said Morgan.

Gideon looked at Spencer.  
"Your godmother is on her way up to join us for lunch since she had a lecture at the academy." said Gideon just as Alex came into the bullpen, made her way over and placed a hand on Spencer's arm.

"You ready to join Hotch, Gideon, and I for lunch, Spencer?" asked Alex.

"Yeah." said Spencer as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose before looking at Morgan and Trevor, "Agents Morgan and Johnson, I would like you to meet SSA Dr. Alex Blake who works at the Hoover Building when not teaching forensic linguistics at Georgetown University."

"Speaking of linguistics, Spencer, maybe you can eventually guest lecture for me after working on a few cases that will allow you to use your linguistic skills." said Alex.

"I guess." said Spencer as he slung his messenger bag around his shoulders.

A minute later Morgan and Trevor were watching the elevator doors close on Spencer, Hotch, Gideon, and Alex, causing Trevor to look at Morgan.

"I wonder if he got into the BAU because of his godmother putting in a good word. I heard that Agent Blake was a profiler here until she got demoted." said Trevor.

 

"It you read the newspapers and saw the news you would already know that he got into the BAU due to the tests he was given. Plus a few months back I remember seeing him running on the nearby trails with Hotch, and boy he was fast." said Morgan.

"I still think he got in because of Agent Blake and knowing Gideon for a couple of years." said Trevor.

"He seems very comfortable with Hotch, and I guess it helps that Hotch has two siblings around Reid's age so Hotch would know how to communicate with him. And I recall that Hotch's sister attended Yale at the same time as Reid." said Morgan.

"You mean Clarissa Hotchner?" asked Trevor as he thought back to Clarissa coming to visit her brother over five months ago and his attempt to flirt with her.

"Hotch mentioned Clarissa's married and expecting her first child, so she's off limits." said Morgan.

"Whoever snagged Clarissa is a lucky man." said Trevor.

xxxxxxxxxx

20 minutes later Spencer was sitting in a diner with Hotch, Gideon, and Alex when Alex looked at her godson.

"How's your first day going so far?" asked Alex.

"I guess it's going OK. Morgan was asking me a few questions about where I grew up, hobbies that I have, and if I found a place to live yet." said Spencer.

"Morgan restores houses during his free time, so if you haven't found a house, he probably would have offered to help you find a place to live." said Gideon.

Spencer nodded.

"I noticed that you seemed a bit tense around Morgan and Johnson." said Hotch.

"They remind me of past high school tormentors." said Spencer.

"You know that my office is open for you if you want to work on your consults in there." said Hotch.

"OK." said Spencer.

A few minutes later their meals arrived, and while they were eating Hotch and Gideon decided to quizzing Spencer on his profiling skills before Spencer, Hotch, and Gideon had to return to the office.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later at 5 PM, Spencer was signing his last consult when he saw his brother-in-law coming towards him.

"Since you don't live that far from me, would you like a ride home?" asked Hotch as he thought about Clarissa and Haley currently cooking dinner together.

"I guess." shrugged Spencer as he packed up his belongings before looking at Morgan and Trevor, "See you two tomorrow." said Spencer quietly as he pulled on his suit jacket before slipping his messenger bag over his shoulder.

A few minutes later Spencer was in Hotch's car, and as soon as they were on the highway that would lead them to DC, Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"No one decided to ask me if I had a girlfriend, fiancée, or a wife and I think they didn't ask due to my age." said Spencer.

"Are you offended by that?" asked Hotch.

"Not really since I know that being married for nearly 11 months and becoming a father at 22-years-old is a bit young, but I'm glad that I have someone to go home to." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer and Clarissa were eating dinner with his brother in law and Haley before he and Clarissa walked the two blocks to their house.


	12. First Case

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spencer and Morgan are getting along because they both have something in common which is having their father/adoptive father both be police officers who are dead even though Morgan's father died in the line of duty and Spencer's uncle dying off duty.

Clarissa was sitting at the kitchen island watching her husband cook breakfast when she heard a slight crash, causing her to see Merton who was playing with one of his springs.

"Are you excited about eventually having a little human who will love to play with you like daddy and I do?" asked Clarissa as she groaned when she felt Diana kick.

Merton meowed at his mommy as his daddy placed a plate that contained scrambled eggs, breakfast sausage, and blueberry pancakes in front of Clarissa.

"Thank you, Spence." said Clarissa as she started to dig into her breakfast.

"You're welcome, Clarissa." said Spencer as he rubbed Clarissa's 30 week pregnant belly before sitting down across from his wife and eating his own breakfast.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer was sitting down at his desk when Morgan sat down at his own desk.

"Morning, Reid." said Morgan as he set a to go cup of coffee in front of Spencer.

"Morning." said Spencer as he eyed the cup, "Is that for me?"

"It is, and I just got it from the nearest coffee shop so it's still warm." said Morgan.

"Thanks." said Spencer as he reached for it and took a sip before grimacing at the amount of creamer that was added into the coffee causing him to set it aside and grab his antacids from his messenger bag and quickly took the dosage he needed.

"I take it that you and dairy don't get along well?" asked Morgan.

Spencer nodded as his ear length curls bounced a bit.

"I'm lactose intolerant, and even though I love dairy I can't stay away from it so I always have antacids with me." said Spencer.

"Do Hotch and Gideon know about your lactose intolerance?" asked Morgan.

"They know." said Spencer.

"Any other medical conditions like allergies that I should know about?" asked Morgan.

"I'm deathly allergic to beta lactams, and I wear a medical alert bracelet to tell doctors and nurses not to prescribe me antibiotics like penicillin, amoxicillin, or Carbenicillin." said Spencer as he showed Morgan his medical alert bracelet.

"May I ask you one more question?" asked Morgan.

"You just did." said Spencer with a smirk on his face, causing Morgan to laugh as he realized that Spencer does have a fun side.

"Do you even wear contact lenses?" asked Morgan.

"I do, but I prefer my glasses over contact lenses because my contacts always bother me during spring and fall allergy season." said Spencer quietly.

"Why are you a bit nervous around me?" asked Morgan.

"You remind me of some of my tormentors from high school. It wasn't easy being in a class with students who were six years older than me because I was bullied practically every day until an incident happened that caused my uncle to arrest a bunch of my classmates and the principal to expel those classmates and allow an officer from my uncle's precinct to be with me at all times." said Spencer.

At that moment Morgan noticed the haunted look in Spencer's eyes causing him to wonder what happened to Spencer while hoping that he wasn't raped by a classmate like he was by Carl Buford before he decided to change the subject.

"What was it like starting college before turning 13?" asked Morgan

"Extreme security measures was arranged for me so I always had a chaperone with me until I turned 18, and I lived off campus with my aunt and uncle until the Spring semester after my 18th birthday when I was given my own dorm." said Spencer

"So how did you interact with other kids your age while skipping grades and starting college before turning 13?" asked Morgan

"Every Sunday my aunt, uncle, and I would attend Sunday Mass. Plus my uncle worked with officers who had sons my age, so there was a lot of father and son camping trips and paintball matches." said Spencer before he decided to return to his consults just as Trevor sat down at his desk.

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Meanwhile in Gideon's office, Gideon looked at Hotch.

"At least Morgan and Reid are getting along well." said Gideon.

"They both learned that they have something in common." said Hotch.

"I just hope that Johnson warms up to Reid soon." said Gideon as his phone rang and when he noticed the area number he knew that they were being called in for a case.

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An hour later Spencer sat down at the round table with his teammates, and during briefing Spencer was able to contribute facts and statistics about his hometown while ignoring the looks that Morgan and Trevor were giving him, and after briefing he headed to the men's room where he called Clarissa and left her a voice mail since he knew that Clarissa was working and she would listen to his voice mail later.

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Five hours later Hotch looked at Detective Hyde as he shook hands with him.

"I'm agent Hotchner, and this is our newest agent, Dr. Spencer Reid." said Hotch as he missed the slight smile on Spencer's face.

Detective Hyde smiled at Spencer.

"I saw you on the news last week Spencer, and congratulations on getting into the BAU. I know that your uncle would be proud of you if he was alive." said Detective Hyde as he patted Spencer on the shoulder.

Spencer looked at Hotch, who looked confused.

"Detective Hyde worked with my uncle Gordon before aunt Ethel, uncle Gordon, and I moved to New Haven so I could attend Yale, and since moving east Detective Hyde has kept contact since I used to play with his son Jeff, who's my age." said Spencer.

"Jeffery and I would have came to your wedding, but you know that we couldn't make it due to Jeffery being in a car accident." said Detective Hyde.

"What is he doing now since he should be finished with college?" asked Spencer.

"He's currently at the police academy since he decided to follow my footsteps." said Detective Hyde.

Spencer looked at the detective and whispered.

"Just so you know, my marriage can't be brought up. I'm on the same team as Clarissa's oldest brother." whispered Spencer.

Detective Hyde thought back to when he met Clarissa in April, and he realized that Agent Hotchner is Clarissa's older brother since Hotch has the same hair color as Clarissa.

"Your secret is safe with me, and I will let other officers know not to say anything." whispered Detective Hyde before he decided to get serious, "Clara's husband is here. He's completely deaf and our translator is out sick and no officers are fluent." said Detective Hyde before looking at Spencer, "I know that you are fluent in sign language because Ethel was deaf."

Two minutes later Spencer and Hotch were sitting across from Justin Roberts, and as Hotch asked questions Spencer easily translated for both Justin and Hotch while not knowing that 20 minutes into the interview Morgan and Trevor came back from the morgue and watched Spencer easily translate for both Hotch and Justin.

"He's just showing off the skills we don't have." muttered Trevor as he watched Spencer translate what Hotch was asking Justin before hearing Spencer translate Justin's answer for Hotch.

"I actually have to say that I'm slightly impressed. Not many FBI agents or police officers would take it upon themselves to take the time." said Morgan.

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An hour later Spencer was working on his first geographical profile, knowing that he would be doing many of during his career in the BAU.

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Later that evening Spencer, Hotch, Morgan, Gideon, and Trevor were standing in the lobby at the hotel and the receptionist looked at the five men.

"There are only three hotel rooms left." said the receptionist.

Gideon looked at his team.

"We will have to double up." said Gideon as he decided to pair Spencer with Hotch and put Morgan and Trevor together while he had a room to himself.

A few minutes later Spencer and Hotch were entering their hotel room, and Hotch allowed Spencer to have the bed closest to the bathroom and a few minutes later Spencer was going through his go bag and shook his head when he noticed that Clarissa decided to add his swim trunks and a few extra t-shirts, causing him to look at Hotch.

"Do you think it would be a problem if I decide to head to the pool and swim some laps to help tire me out so I can sleep?" asked Spencer.

Hotch thought back to the times that Spencer stayed in his guest bedroom since Spencer's and Clarissa's first Christmas together there were times that Spencer wouldn't be sleeping while Haley and Clarissa slept.

"When it's downtime there's no problem about using any fitness facilities in hotels, but it will be helpful to get some sleep because there might be times that we're awakened during the night due to another victim." said Hotch.

"OK." said Spencer before looking at his brother in law, "I will go swim some laps, and I will have my cellphone nearby." said Spencer as he removed the chain that contained his wedding band from around his neck and slipped it into his go bag.

"I was planning on going down to the pool too." said Hotch.

15 minutes later Spencer and Hotch were both in the room that held the indoor pool when they saw Morgan getting ready for a swim.

"You two decided to swim laps before going to bed too?" asked Morgan.

"Yeah." said Spencer as he slipped his flip flops off his feet before self consciously removing his t-shirt and draping it by his towel just as Morgan saw the scar from his open appendectomy.

"What's with that scar on your abdomen?" asked Morgan as he realized that for how skinny Spencer was for his height, he had a healthy amount of lean muscles.

Spencer's face heated up slightly as he decided to put his t-shirt back on.

"I had an appendicitis during the summer I stayed at my godparents between earning my second PhD and moving to Cambridge to attend MIT." said Spencer as he looked around the pool area to memorize his surroundings before removing his glasses and putting them onto the table before using echolocation to find the stairs that led to the shallow end of the pool, and as soon as Spencer got into the water Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Why were you snapping your fingers?" asked Morgan.

"I used echolocation to help me get around, and a lot of blind people use it when not using a cane or guide dog." said Spencer right before he decided to start swimming laps.

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The next morning Spencer was visiting a crime scene for the very first time with Hotch, Gideon, and Detective Hyde, and as soon as he reached the dead body of Clara he felt his breakfast coming back up, causing him to sprint away from the crime scene and before he knew it he was vomiting up his breakfast before he felt a hand rubbing his back as he dry heaved. A few minutes later he was accepting a bottle of water and a mint from Hotch who stayed with him as he collected himself before Hotch looked at him as he drank his bottle of water.

"Do you think you can head back to the crime scene and finish observing the scene to look for clues about our unsub?" asked Hotch.

"I know that it's different than what I studied in the academy, but I know that I can do it because I'm going to have to deal with stinky diapers in 10 weeks." said Spencer softly as he popped a mint into his mouth.

"Then let's go, and eventually you will be able to handle crime scenes even though your eidetic memory won't let you forget any crime scene you see." said Hotch as he gently squeezed Spencer's arm.

A few minutes later Spencer and Hotch made their way back to the crime scene, and Detective Hyde looked at Spencer who was now looking away from the body.

"Eventually you will be able to handle crime scenes without getting sick, son." said Detective Hyde.

"I know, but it's human to react the way I did." said Spencer as he looked at the body again and was able to find a few clues that helped his teammates develop their profile.

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A few hours later Spencer watched his four teammates give the profile, knowing that he would eventually be included.

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The next day the unsub was arrested, and when they were packing up, Spencer pulled Gideon aside.

"Mind if we stay an extra two hours so I can visit my parents graves and check in on aunt Elena?" asked Spencer quietly.

"I was going to suggest that you do that because it might be awhile before you're in your hometown again." said Gideon as he passed Spencer the keys to one SUV.

Hotch looked at Spencer and noticed that he looked slightly better than the day before when it came to visiting his first crime scene.

"I will get your go bag from the hotel." said Hotch.

"Thanks." said Spencer as he slung his messenger bag over his shoulders before leaving the station and Morgan looked at Hotch and Gideon.

"Where is Reid going?" asked Morgan.

"It's none of your business." said Gideon before looking at Morgan and Trevor, "We have two hours of free time before we need to head back to Quantico, and please don't follow Reid."

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20 minutes later Spencer was approaching Dr. Jesson who smiled at him.

"Your aunt mentioned that you made it into the BAU." said Dr. Jesson as she noticed that Spencer looked a bit pale.

"I was surprised that my first case would happen in my hometown, but I just wanted to check in on aunt Elena before heading to the airport since I'm flying back to Quantico in an hour and forty minutes." said Spencer.

"You look much paler than the last time I saw you." said Dr. Jesson.

"I was subjected to my first real crime scene to see if I can handle it, and luckily I collected myself and returned to the scene. Eventually I should be able to handle visiting a crime scene." said Spencer.

"It's good that you were able to go back, and having a reaction is human." said Dr. Jesson.

"I know, but where's aunt Elena?" asked Spencer.

"She's in the day room right now, and you can only visit for 20 minutes because it's almost time for her medication." said Dr. Jesson.

"Thanks." said Spencer as he walked away, and a few minutes he approached his adoptive aunt, "Hi aunt Elena."

"This is a surprise, Spencer." said Elena as she hugged Spencer.

"My first case brought me here, and I thought that instead of writing today's letter I would come visit you since you're having a good day." said Spencer.

"And I'm glad that your superior gave you permission to visit me." said Elena before looking at Spencer, "How much longer until my great niece is born?" asked Elena as she thought about the letters she received.

"Only 10 more weeks." said Spencer.

"Nervous?" asked Elena.

"I am." said Spencer.

"With how Ethel and Gordon did on raising you, you are going to be a great father." said Elena before they briefly chatted about literature before Spencer had to leave.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A half hour later Spencer placed a bouquet of flowers in front of the two headstones he was standing in front of.

"Hi mom. Hi dad. I completed basic training at the academy, and I got into the BAU. I just worked my first case. If you two were alive today you two would be excited about getting to hold your first grandchild in ten weeks, and Clarissa and I are having a little girl that we're naming Diana Ethel Reid." said Spencer before he started to tell his parents about how training went at the academy before he had to head to the airport.

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As they settled for their flight home, Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Would you mind telling me why you would learn sign language?" asked Morgan.

"Morgan." scolded Gideon.

Spencer looked at his unit chief.

"It's OK." said Spencer before looking at Morgan, "Aunt Ethel was born deaf, and despite being able to hear with the help of hearing aids she would go without her hearing aids at home, causing uncle Gordon and me to communicate with her through sign language."

"Was she able to talk?" asked Morgan.

"She was, and after my parents died, social services were nervous about placing me with my aunt and uncle because aunt Ethel was deaf and uncle Gordon was a police officer, but when the social worker saw me using sign language to communicate with aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon keeping his guns locked up in a safe they decided to let me stay with them since uncle Gordon was the only surviving blood relative." said Spencer.

At that moment Morgan decided to give Spencer a distraction so he got up and found a deck of cards and a container of poker chips.

"Despite living in Las Vegas for your first 12 years, do you know how to play Poker?" asked Morgan.

Spencer grinned.

"I do." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer, Hotch, Morgan, and Trevor were sitting at the four seater table and after Spencer won his fourth hand in a row   
Morgan looked at him.

"It's a good thing that we don't play for money because you would have cleaned out my wallet with your poker skills." said Morgan.

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Later that night Spencer entered his and Clarissa's house to see Clarissa laying awake on the couch while Merton was laying on his armchair.

"Welcome home." said Clarissa as she struggled to sit upright, causing Spencer to quickly make his way to assist his wife.

"I missed you." said Spencer as he kissed his wife.

"How's Elena?" asked Clarissa.

"She's doing fine, and I did get the chance to visit my parents graves." said Spencer as he yawned.

"How about you quickly sort through your go bag and take a shower before we head up to bed." said Clarissa.

"Yes ma'am." teased Spencer.

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45 minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were fast asleep in their bed.


	13. An Early Christmas Present

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place on December 19th of 2003 when Clarissa's 12 days away from her due date meaning that Spencer's and Clarissa's one year wedding anniversary has already passed. Spencer will be a bit OOC in this chapter since he will be swearing and you guys will find out why so be prepared for extreme cuteness.

Spencer was packing up to head home for his holiday break when Morgan looked at him.

"What are you planning on doing during our time off until January 5th of next year?" asked Morgan as he thought about how Spencer politely declined his invitation of going to Chicago, stating that he already had plans.

"If your worried that I'm going to be alone during holiday break because of my godparents are going to Kansas City, I'm not going to be alone. Hotch and his wife have invited me to join in on their festivities." said Spencer as he thought about how his daughter could be born any day now.

"That's nice of Hotch and Haley." said Morgan.

At that moment, Hotch who was coming towards them, spoke up.

"Haley practically adopted Reid since she thinks that he needs constant mothering." joked Hotch before looking at Spencer, "Need a ride home so you don't have to take the train?"

"Yes please." said Spencer as he pulled on his green and brown corduroy jacket and slung his messenger bag around his shoulder before looking at Morgan, "I hope you have a Merry Christmas and have a happy New Year."

"You too, kid." said Morgan as he packed up so he could catch his flight in two hours.

Spencer walked out of the bullpen with Hotch, and as soon as Hotch was on the highway he looked at Spencer.

"You do know that Haley's hoping for you to play Christmas carols on either your violin, piano, or cello since we're celebrating Christmas at your house to make things easier for Clarissa." said Hotch.

"I know, and I've already been recruited by Clarissa to play Christmas carols on the piano at the holiday party at Children's National tomorrow." said Spencer.

"Speaking of hospitals, are you nervous about Diana's upcoming birth?" asked Hotch.

"Clarissa and I both talked about being scared and nervous since we're both 22-year-olds, working our dream jobs, but we know that we will get through everything together." said Spencer.

"Even though I'm not a parent yet, when I was 10 my mom put Clarissa in my arms for the first time I instantly loved my baby sister." said Hotch.

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40 minutes later Spencer and Hotch entered Spencer's and Clarissa's house and as soon as they removed their coats, shoes, and placed their guns in the safe by the door they smelled food, causing them to head to the kitchen where they saw Haley putting a pan of lasagna into the oven while Clarissa was decorating freshly baked cut out sugar cookies causing Spencer to reach for a cookie off a plate just as Clarissa slapped his hand with a wooden spoon.

"They're for the children tomorrow when we help out at the Christmas party." said Clarissa.

At that moment a pouting Spencer looked at Clarissa and worked his eyes on her, causing both Hotch and Haley to laugh at his antics.

"Go ahead and take one, but please don't teach Diana how to use her eyes and pout so she can get whatever she wants." said Clarissa as she passed Spencer a cookie before feeling a powerful kick, "I just can't wait for Diana to be born since she's constantly kicking me these past few weeks." said a grumbling Clarissa.

"It's the third trimester, so there's an average of 30 fetal movements per hour. Babies kick to explore movement and strengthen muscle." said Spencer as he rested his hand on Clarissa's swollen belly and felt his daughter kick, "The first time I felt Diana kick I was a bit freaked out since I missed five months of this pregnancy, but now I love feeling my daughter kick." said Spencer before he headed to the stove and checked the tea pot.

"The tea was finished a minute before you two men walked in." said Clarissa as she took a sip of her own tea.

Spencer grabbed a mug and poured some tea into it before adding some sugar and took a sip.

"It's strange seeing you drink tea outside of work, Spencer." said Hotch.

"It's my wife of one year and 19 days idea to have me cut back on coffee outside of work." grumbled Spencer.

"My husband's practically an insomniac so I only let him drink coffee at breakfast when he's home so I can make sure that he gets some sleep at night." said Clarissa.

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The next day Spencer and Clarissa entered the day room at Children's National when the head nurse came towards them.

"You look like you're going to give birth any day now, Clarissa." said the head nurse Bonnie Fitzgerald.

"Only 11 more days." said Clarissa as Spencer helped her remove her jacket before helping her sit down.

"You don't have to stay for the entire party, Clarissa." said Nurse Bonnie.

"I know, but I wanted to be here for the kids." said Clarissa.

10 minutes later the holiday party was in full swing, and before Spencer knew it he was sitting by the piano playing songs like "Jingle Bells", "Rudolph the Reid Nose Reindeer", "Up on the Housetop", "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" on the piano while singing along with staff members, kids, and their parents before he gave that promised magic show to the kids.

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Later that night at 1 AM, Clarissa woke up to a burst of pain and feeling wet causing her to wake her husband, and as soon as Spencer had his glasses on Clarissa looked at him.

"My water just broke so please call Aaron since he's wanting to drive us to the hospital." said Clarissa.

Spencer quickly got out of bed and quickly pulled on some corduroys and a button down shirt before he called Hotch who answered on the second ring.

"Hotchner." answered a groggy Hotch.

"I'm sorry to wake you up, but your niece decided that she wants to be born before Christmas." said Spencer.

"Haley and I will be there to pick you two up in 10 minutes." said Hotch as he hung up and woke up his wife and Sean who was in the guest bedroom.

Spencer pocketed his phone before he helped Clarissa get out of bed and put on some clothes.

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An hour later Spencer stood outside of Clarissa's hospital room with Hotch, Haley, and Sean when Clarissa's gynecologist, Dr. Tanner Larson exited the room and looked at Spencer who looked nervous and excited.

"Your wife is currently five centimeters dilated, and she declined having an epidural." said Dr. Larson.

"Are we able to go in yet?" asked Spencer.

"Clarissa's been asking for you, and I will be checking on you guys in an hour." said Dr. Larson before walking away.

At that moment Spencer, Hotch, Haley, and Sean entered the room and as soon as Spencer got himself onto the nearby stool and started massaging Clarissa's lower back, Clarissa looked at Haley.

"Haley, would you like to join Spencer and I in the delivery room since you attended Lamaze classes with me until Spencer was able to?" asked Clarissa.

"I would love to, Clarissa." said Haley.

"What about me?" asked Hotch.

"I don't want to scare you yet for when you and Haley finally give Spencer and I some nieces and nephews to spoil." said Clarissa before another contraction hit causing her to squeeze Spencer's hand hard, making him groan in pain.

"Now that's my cue to leave sis, and the next time I see you I will be holding my niece." said Sean as he gave his sister a kiss on the cheek before leaving the room leaving Hotch, Haley, and Spencer with Clarissa.

"Want me to call Gideon and tell him what's going on?" asked Hotch.

"Yes, please." said Spencer as Clarissa felt another contraction hit, causing Spencer to wince as his hand was squeezed again.

Hotch left the room, leaving Spencer and Haley with Clarissa.

"Do you want any ice to suck on?" asked Spencer.

"Can I have apple juice?" asked Clarissa.

"You can't since you're not suppose to eat or drink anything except allow ice cubes to melt in your mouth just in case you end up having a C-section." said Spencer as he continued to rub Clarissa's lower back and belly while Haley decided to wipe the sweat that was falling off Clarissa's forehead.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"If I give you any threats from now until Diana is born, please don't believe that I will actually give into those threats." said Clarissa.

"I know because it will be the pain making you talk like that." said Spencer as he kissed his wife's forehead, "I love you Clarissa, and I can't wait to hold our little girl."

"I love you too." said Clarissa as she moved a strand of hair out of her face.

"Would you like me to braid your hair so it stays out of your face?" asked Haley.

"Yes please." said Clarissa before looking at her husband, "Would you like to braid my hair instead of Haley since I've been teaching you how?"

At that moment a blushing Spencer looked at Haley.

"How about you do Clarissa's hair, Haley." said Spencer as he got up to grab the bag containing everything they needed for the next couple of days and passed a hair brush and some hair ties to Haley.

"Why don't you go get some coffee." said Haley.

"OK." said Spencer as he left the room.

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Five hours later Spencer was opening his mouth when Clarissa glared at him.

"If you give me one more statistic about labor and childbirth, I will let Aaron shoot you." snapped Clarissa.

At that moment a gulping Spencer turned bright red while Haley laughed right before another contraction passed causing a screaming Clarissa to squeeze Spencer's hand so hard that he had to let go.

"Son of a bitch, that hurts." muttered Spencer as he massaged his hand while Clarissa and Haley laughed just as Dr. Larson entered the room.

"Let's see how far you are, Clarissa." said Dr. Larson.

A minute later Dr. Larson looked at Spencer, Haley, and Clarissa.

"It's time to head to the delivery room. Spencer and Haley, you two need to change into scrubs and scrub up." said Dr. Larson as a nurse motioned them to follow her.

Five minutes later Spencer and Haley were both dressed in scrubs, and before they knew it they were helping Clarissa get positioned before Spencer got onto the bed and settled himself behind Clarissa while Haley took the stool so she could be in charge of wiping sweat.

xxxxxxx

After a half hour of pushing Dr. Larson looked at Clarissa.

"I see some curly brown hair so only a few more pushes until you and Spencer meet your daughter." said Dr. Larson.

"You're almost there." said Haley as she wiped some sweat off of Clarissa's forehead.

"I love you Clarissa, and you can do this." said Spencer.

"Can I push?" asked Clarissa.

"Go ahead." said Dr. Larson.

Clarissa screamed as she pushed before leaning back against Spencer.

"Only two more pushes and then we will get to meet your daughter." said Dr. Larson as he looked at the monitor before looking at Clarissa, "In 10 seconds I need you to push very hard."

10 seconds later Clarissa was screaming as she pushed before leaning against her husband, and after one more push there was a crying baby girl in the delivery room, causing everyone to cry happy tears.

"Congratulations mommy and daddy, it's a healthy baby girl." said Dr. Larson before looking at Spencer who had happy tears falling down his face, "Spencer, would you like to cut the cord?"

"Yes." said Spencer as got off the bed, and 15 seconds later he was cutting the cord with shaky hands while Dr. Larson wiped up Diana a little bit before placing her on Clarissa's chest and a nurse picked up Diana so she could go get cleaned up.

Clarissa looked at her husband as she removed his glasses so she could wipe the tears off his face.

"Go be with Diana since a nurse is going to help me clean up." said Clarissa.

"OK." said Spencer as he went to follow the nurse while motioning Haley to follow him.

"I think I will tell Aaron and Sean that we can meet Diana later on today since Aaron, Sean, and I will get some sleep so you and Clarissa can bond with Diana." said Haley.

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A half hour later Spencer was holding Diana for the first time in Clarissa's hospital room while Clarissa napped a little bit.

"Hello Diana I'm your daddy, and I can get you into Yale or MIT with just one phone call." said Spencer as he looked at his daughter who had a full head of brown curly hair just like him while having Clarissa's blue eyes, "You have my hair and your mommy's eyes, and I will definitely need to keep boys away from you when you become a teenager." said Spencer as he ran a gentle finger on Diana's cheek before she grabbed his finger.

At that moment Clarissa opened her eyes and smiled at the sight of Diana holding her daddy's finger.

"She already has you wrapped around you finger." teased Clarissa.

"I know." said Spencer before Diana started whimpering, "I think someone's hungry." said Spencer as he gently passed his daughter to Clarissa who already had adjusted her hospital gown so she could try to breastfeed their daughter for the first time.

"As soon as she's full, you can burp her." said Clarissa as she smiled when Diana successfully latched on.

"Don't be surprised if Diana ends up inheriting my lactose intolerance since my uncle Gordon once told me that my mom was lactose intolerant." said Spencer.

"Well for now it's just a wait and see period." said Clarissa before she started singing some Christmas carols to Diana as she nursed her daughter  
before passing Diana to her daddy.

"I believe that we can consider Diana our early Christmas gift." said Spencer as he gently worked on burping his daughter.

"I agree, and I have to say we did a damn good job." said Clarissa as she watched her husband burp their daughter.

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A few hours later Spencer was sitting in the arm chair by Clarissa's hospital bed holding his daughter when there was a knock on the door and Haley stuck her head in.

"Is there room for three more?" asked Haley.

"Come in." said Clarissa.

A minute later Hotch was the first one holding little Diana, and as soon as he looked at his first niece, he looked at the new parents who were both glowing with happiness.

"Diana's a perfect mixture of you two." said Hotch.

"We know." said Spencer.

At that moment Haley gently took Diana from her husband.

"She's beautiful." said Haley before passing the baby to Sean.

"She has our eyes, Clarissa." said Sean.

"I know, but I'm happy that Diana inherited Spencer's curly brown hair." said Clarissa.

At that moment Diana started whimpering, and as soon as Sean handed Diana to her daddy, she stopped.

"You two definitely have a daddy's girl." cooed Haley.

"I know." smiled Clarissa as she looked at her husband, who was staring at their daughter.

"Even though it's still December 21st, are you being released before Christmas Eve?" asked Haley.

"With Diana being born healthy and me having no complications during labor it's been planned that Diana and I will get to go home on the 23rd, just in time for her first Christmas." said Clarissa as she yawned.

"Get some sleep." said Spencer.

"You need some sleep too, Spence, since I woke you up at 1 AM." said Clarissa.

"Are you staying the night, Spencer?" asked Haley.

"I am." said Spencer just as a nurse came into the room and looked at the tired new parents.

"I will take Diana into the nursery so you two can get some sleep." said Nurse Emma before looking at Spencer who had some dark circles under his eyes, "You're welcome to join your wife in bed if you want." said Emma as she gently removed Diana from Spencer's arms and placed her in the bassinet before leaving the room with her.

"We will let you two get some rest." said Hotch as he kissed Clarissa on the cheek before patting Spencer on the shoulder while Haley and Sean said goodbye to Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were asleep in Clarissa's hospital bed.

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Four days later Spencer and Clarissa were eating Christmas Day dinner with Hotch, Haley, and Sean at the Reid family house while four day old Diana slept peacefully in her bassinet between her parents.


	14. Back to Work & Blue Ridge Strangler

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are time jumps in this chapter and Garcia makes her first appearance.

Spencer looked at his two week old daughter as he changed Diana's diaper.

"Daddy has to go back to work today so you get to spend the day with your mommy and auntie Haley while I work with your uncle Aaron." said Spencer.

Diana cooed at her daddy and worked on kicking her little legs as her daddy got her dressed in a warm onesie while she listened to the soothing sound of his voice.

"Hopefully I will come home tonight, but if I'm don't, mommy will play the recordings I made of me singing lullabies and reading stories so you can hear my voice." said Spencer just as Clarissa, who was wearing lounge wear and had her long dark hair pulled into a messy bun, entered the nursery.

"Should we cook breakfast together before Aaron and Haley get here so you can carpool with Aaron while Haley stays here and help me take care of Diana and housework?" asked Clarissa as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"Yeah." said Spencer as he gently scooped up his daughter and a few minutes later Diana was laying in her baby seat while Spencer and Clarissa worked together on making scrambled eggs, bacon, and pancakes together before they sat down and ate.

 

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30 minutes after eating breakfast, the doorbell rang and a minute later Spencer was letting Hotch and Haley into the house. Haley made a beeline for little Diana and scooped her into her arms.

"Who's the prettiest girl in the world." cooed Haley

Diana cooed at her aunt Haley as her daddy and uncle Aaron approached them and Hotch couldn't help but smile at his niece.

"She keeps getting more and more beautiful everyday." said Hotch before looking at Clarissa, "Even though I saw you every day these past two weeks, how are you feeling?"

"I'm slowly getting my energy back, but it sucks that I can't have any coffee since I'm nursing." said Clarissa as she watched her husband gently run a finger over Diana's little cheek, "And when Diana's sleeping I'm sleeping too since a few other nurses who are parents told me that I should sleep when Diana does."

Spencer smiled softly at his wife.

"At least I spent yesterday making home cooked meals and put them in the fridge or freezer so you can either put them into the microwave or oven." said Spencer as he gave his wife a peck on the lips.

"Sometimes I swear that you're better in the kitchen than me." said Clarissa.

"The chemist in me is the reason why I excel at cooking." said Spencer.

Hotch looked at the clock before looking at Spencer.

"We should probably get going." said Hotch.

Spencer leaned down to give his baby girl a kiss on the forehead.

"Daddy loves you so much baby girl, and when I get home we will have some daddy/daughter time so mommy can take a break." said Spencer.

Diana cooed at her daddy before Spencer reluctantly walked away from his daughter so he could leave the house with Hotch.

A few minutes later Spencer was getting into the front passenger seat of Hotch's car, and Spencer looked at his brother in law.

"I wish that I could bring Diana to the office and show her off, but I know that I can't since we're keeping my marriage a secret as long as possible." said Spencer.

"I understand because I want to show pictures of my niece at the office, but with Diana having some of your features people will figure out that you're the man who married my sister since we're profilers." said Hotch.

"Just so you know, Strauss stopped by two days ago so I could fill out the paperwork that she needed on Diana since she's locking my parental status information up with the information she's keeping out of my personal file." said Spencer.

"Did she meet Diana?" asked Hotch.

"She did, and she brought clothing that she saved from when her daughters were babies." said Spencer.

"That was nice of her." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxxx

45 minutes later Spencer walked into the bullpen with Hotch, and a few minutes later he was sitting down at his desk doing his consults right away. When he was already working on his third consult, he saw Morgan coming towards him.

"Morning Morgan." said Spencer.

Morgan passed him the coffee he decided to pick up for him.

"Just the way you like it." said Morgan as Trevor sat down at his own desk.

"Thanks." said Spencer as he took a sip.

"Did you have a good Christmas and New Years?" asked Morgan.

"I did since I was able to get caught up on cleaning, laundry, cooking meals that I placed in the freezer so I can easily pop them into the oven or microwave when I'm hungry, I caught up on some of my favorite TV shows, and finally I was able to catch up on some sleep." said Spencer.

"You do look a bit tired for someone who had a productive holiday break." said Morgan.

"I ended up staying up a bit later last night since I decided to finish an article that I'm hoping to publish for a police journal." said Spencer as he thought about the paper being the partial truth.

"Why are you going to be publishing papers when Gideon already publishes?" asked Trevor.

"With being famous in the academic community, I want to keep my name out so I work on papers when I'm home." said Spencer.

"Speaking of being home, have you ever gone out to bars to have drinks or tour around DC?" asked Morgan.

"When it comes to my godparents living in DC, I've been to DC countless of times since I was a child, and during the first summer after the deaths of my aunt and uncle I ended up staying with my godparents for the summer since I was moving to Cambridge that fall." said Spencer before smiling a bit, "That summer I ended up meeting Strauss since my godmother had me bring a book she needed for a consult, and the second time I had to drop something off Gideon gave me a tour."

"What about bars and clubs?" asked Morgan.

"When it comes to going to bars and clubs I don't go to any at all because my eidetic memory and my Asperger's syndrome cause me to deal with sensory overload so I prefer quiet places, and I refuse to drink any alcoholic beverages because my parents and eventually my aunt and uncle were all killed by drunk drivers." said Spencer before he tucked one of his growing curls behind his ear.

"Then you have good reasons about why you don't go out drinking and partying, but what about going out and about and making friends your age outside of work?" asked Morgan.

"I go to church, I play chess against people at the park, and I ended up attending a few of my godmother's evening lectures." said Spencer as he decided to continue working on his paperwork to tell Morgan and Trevor that he was done talking.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile in Washington DC, Clarissa was trying to soothe her crying daughter, and Haley came forward with one of Spencer's shirts that she found in the hamper.

"How about you hand me Diana, put this on and see if Spencer's scent will help." said Haley.

"OK." said Clarissa.

Two minutes later Diana fell asleep in her mother's arms.

"Definitely a daddy's girl." muttered Clarissa causing Haley to smile.

"Motherhood definitely agrees with you Clarissa." said Haley.

"I know." smiled Clarissa as she looked down at her baby girl.

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A couple of hours later Spencer was about to sit down at his desk and eat his lunch when Gideon came over to him.

"Why don't you join me in my office for lunch and we can play some chess?" asked Gideon.

"OK." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was playing chess against Gideon, and Gideon looked at Spencer.

"Even though we're not supposed to bring up your wife and newborn daughter in this building, how's Diana?" asked Gideon.

Spencer smiled at the mention of his daughter.

"She's doing great, and during the past two weeks I ended up wishing that my parents, uncle Daniel, aunt Ethel, and uncle Gordon were still alive because I would imagine them all fighting over getting to hold their granddaughter or great niece." said Spencer as he moved a chess piece, "I was once told that everything happens for a reason, and I know that if I wasn't sitting on that bench at that moment I probably wouldn't have met my wife." said Spencer quietly.

"That's true, and I just hope that you don't let this job get in the way of your relationship with Clarissa and your daughter because you already know that this job cost my relationship with my own family." said Gideon.

At that moment both men decided to continue their chess game as they ate their lunch.

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At 6 PM that evening, Spencer and Hotch entered the Reid family home, and Spencer grinned when he heard some cooing from the bassinet, causing him to quickly make his way to his daughter and a few seconds later Spencer was gently scooping up his daughter.

"Daddy missed you so much." said Spencer as he cradled his daughter close to him.

Diana cooed at her daddy just as Haley and Clarissa exited the kitchen.

"Dinner will be done in 15 minutes." said Haley.

Spencer sniffed the air and smiled at his daughter.

"I guess someone needs a diaper change." said Spencer as he headed towards the stairs with his daughter.

As soon as Spencer disappeared, Clarissa looked at her brother.

"Diana missed Spencer all day long, and she finally calmed down when I ended up putting a shirt that had Spencer's scent while playing the recordings that he made." said Clarissa.

"He's definitely going to be in trouble when Diana becomes a teenager." said Haley.

10 minutes later the Hotchners and the Reids were sitting around the dining room table, and after everyone held hands so Spencer could say Grace all four adults started eating while Diana peacefully slept in her bassinet.

"How was work?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer and Hotch took turns sharing about their day before Clarissa and Haley talked about how Diana did all day.

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Later that night Spencer was in Diana's nursery rocking his daughter to sleep, and he looked down at Diana who was staring at him.

"I might not be home every night, but I want you to know that I will always love you." said Spencer.

Diana cooed at her daddy, and a minute later he started singing one of his favorite lullabies before he carried his daughter into the master bedroom where he gently set Diana in her bassinet.

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Over four months later Spencer smiled at his baby girl who was getting up to her hands and knees.

"Going to attempt crawling, baby girl?" asked Spencer as he looked at his daughter.

"Aye." said Diana.

Clarissa grabbed the video camera that has been used constantly after Diana's birth, and as soon as she started the recording Spencer looked at his nearly five month old daughter.

"Come to daddy, Diana." said Spencer.

Diana started to slowly crawl to her daddy, and as soon as she reached him, Spencer scooped up his baby girl.

"Daddy's so proud of you, baby girl." said Spencer as he kissed his daughter on the cheek before tickling Diana's belly, causing the baby girl to laugh.

Clarissa, who had already stopped recording, made her way to her husband and daughter.

"Mommy's proud of you too." said Clarissa as she took Diana from Spencer.

Diana smiled at her parents before she started getting fussy just as Spencer and Clarissa smelled a stinky diaper.

"Rochambeau on who gets to change Diana's diaper and who gets to start cooking dinner?" asked Clarissa

"Two out of three gets to cook dinner." said Spencer.

"Deal." said Clarissa.

After three rounds of rock, paper, scissors, Clarissa was changing Diana's diaper while Spencer started cooking dinner.

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Two days later Spencer, Hotch, and Morgan approached the crime scene for their latest case that the three of them were working on while Gideon and Trevor were in California working on a case that only needed two agents.

"Detective." said Hotch as he shook hands with Detective Jarvis.

"Wish I could say it was good to see you again." said Detective Jarvis as he shook hands with Morgan.

"This is our, uh, newest agent Dr. Spencer Reid." said Hotch.

Detective Jarvis looked at Spencer who didn't hold out his hand to shake.

"Ted Jarvis. A little young, aren't you? No offense." said Jarvis.

Spencer kept his eyes on the crime scene as he spoke.

"None taken. In fact, neural processing speeds reach their maximum at around age 15. So when it comes to being affected by crime scenes and other graphic visual input, We're all really the same age." said Spencer as he thought about how much his confidence has grown since joining the BAU seven months ago.

"Reid. Tell me what you see." said Hotch as he thought about how Spencer's been able to handle crime scenes much better since his third case.

Spencer stepped closer and knelt down next to Hotch as he looked at the crime scene.

"Ligature marks seem to match that of the previous 2 victims. He uses a belt. It's his signature. Tan line on the wrist means her watch is missing. He takes trophies." said Spencer.

"They're always buried facedown." said Morgan.

"It's a sign of remorse. He can't bear looking them in the face." said Spencer.

"So he knows them personally?" asked Morgan.

"You don't have to know somebody to regret killing them." said Spencer as he stood up to his full height and turned around to make eye contact with Morgan, "No, he picks these women because he can."

Hotch stood up to his full height as he talked.

"He's opportunistic. These victims happened to be in the wrong place at the right time." said Hotch.

Detective Jarvis noticed Mr. Corbett coming with an officer.

"Bogey coming in." said Detective Jarvis.

"The father?" asked Morgan.

"Don't suppose you guys want to Rochambeau for the privilege?" asked Detective Jarvis.

At that moment Spencer thought about how he and Clarissa do Rochambeau on who gets to cook dinner or be on Diana duty, causing him to speak up since he wanted to get away from the crime scene.

"I'll go." said Spencer as he walked towards Mr. Corbett.

"Go get 'em, tiger." said Detective Jarvis as he watched the young agent approach Mr. Corbett.

"It's her, isn't it? It's my Darcy." said a sobbing Mr. Corbett.

"It might be, sir, but if it is, You don't want to see her. This isn't a memory that you want." said Spencer as he gently rested a hand on Mr.   
Corbett's arm and led him away as he introduced himself.

"How old are you?" asked Mr. Corbett.

"I'm 22." said Spencer.

"This your first case?" asked Mr. Corbett.

"I've been with the BAU for nearly seven months, but may I let you in on a secret?" asked Spencer.

"What?" asked Mr. Corbett.

"Only a few certain people in the FBI know that I'm married to my college sweetheart and have a nearly five month old daughter." said Spencer quietly.

"Do you have a picture of your little girl?" asked Mr. Corbett.

"Are you sure that you want to see a picture?" asked Spencer gently.

"Even though it's most likely my daughter in that grave, I won't mind seeing a picture of your little girl." said Mr. Corbett.

Spencer reached for his wallet from his back pocket, and a few seconds later he was showing Mr. Corbett a professional photo of Diana.

"She's beautiful, and I hope you do a better job at keeping your daughter safe." said Mr. Corbett

"I hope so too, since I'm planning on keeping my wife and daughter a secret for as long as I can." said Spencer.

"Your parents must be proud of you for getting into the FBI so young." said Mr. Corbett.

Spencer's face saddened a bit.

"My parents died when I was four, and my aunt and uncle who adopted me, died when I was 19." said Spencer.

"I'm sorry." said Mr. Corbett.

"It's OK because I know that they're proud of me for not letting the deaths of my aunt and uncle stop me from following my dreams, and my daughter Diana is named after my mom." said Spencer softly.

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The next day Spencer was sitting at his desk as Hotch paced.

"He hunts 200,000 acres like it's his own backyard. He attacks high-risk victims, young, strong female joggers, but in low-risk locations." said Hotch.

"Like David Carpenter, the trailside killer. Are there other parallels?" asked Morgan.

"This guy's different. Carpenter used a blitz attack. This unsub insinuates himself, disarms the victims." said Spencer.

"Maybe he uses a con, Playing the injured hiker, lost dog?" asked Morgan.

"Too many variables. She could run for help or call 911 on her cell phone before he gains control." said Hotch.

Morgan stood up and headed to the board.

"Control." said Morgan.

"He's in a position of authority." said Spencer.

"But not law enforcement. A cop would know better than to bury a body in 2 feet of dirt." said Morgan.

"The forest service would give him access to service roads." said Hotch.

Spencer opened up the website for the park, and a minute later he was highlighting the amount of employees in the forest.

"1, 718 employees." said Spencer.

Hotch, who was leaning over his shoulder, spoke up.

"He won't be a new employee. He's cautious, he's organized. He leaves behind no trace evidence." said Hotch.

"He's bordering on paranoid. He's the kind of guy who needs to know exactly what the cops know. He's probably inserted himself Into the investigation already." said Morgan as he noticed their new technical analyst and looked at Spencer, "Hey, what's that new tech girl's name?"

"Uh... Gomez, I think." said Spencer.

Morgan headed towards Garcia.

"Excuse me, Gomez." said Morgan, and when Garcia ignored him he tried a different tactic, "Hey, baby girl."

At that moment Spencer and Hotch exchanged glances while keeping their faces straight as they both thought about Spencer calling Diana baby girl.

"Baby girl?" asked Garcia.

"Forgive me. I just didn't know the real-" said Morgan.

"I've been called worse. What can I do for you?" asked Garcia.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer was sitting at his desk working on his post case paperwork when Garcia approached him, and she instantly noticed an old picture.

"Is that you as a child?" asked Garcia as she pointed at the picture of four year old Spencer with his parents.

"That was the last picture taken of my parents and me and they died two weeks later when I was four." said Spencer before pointing at a few pictures of him with his aunt and uncle, "That was the last picture of me with my aunt and uncle who adopted me after my parents death. They were killed by a drunk driver when I was 19."

"I understand what you went through since my parents were killed by a drunk diver when I was 18, and I ended up dropping out of Cal-tech and you already know how I got here since I saw you when I got arrested." said Garcia.

Spencer slightly smirked.

"I almost attended Cal-tech when I graduated high school when I was 12, but I decided to go to Yale and eventually MIT. And after the deaths of my aunt and uncle my academic adviser sent me to mandatory grief counseling while having a few friends helped me by making sure I didn't isolate myself." said Spencer.

"How old are you?" asked Garcia.

"I'm 22, and I have been working for the BAU for seven months." said Spencer as Hotch came out of his office and looked at him.

"Need a ride home or are you going to take the train?" asked Hotch.

"A ride would be great." said Spencer as he put a few files into his messenger bag, and 10 minutes later when Hotch was on the highway he burst out laughing.

"Finally laughing about what Morgan called our new technical analyst?" asked Hotch.

"Yeah, you already know that my eidetic memory doesn't allow me to remember everything I'm told verbally." said Spencer.

"Just so you know, Gideon and Johnson will be back tomorrow." said Hotch.

"OK." said Spencer.

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45 minutes later Spencer entered Diana's nursery, and a few seconds later he was looking at his sleeping daughter for a few minutes before Diana opened her eyes and smiled when she saw her daddy.

"What are you doing up?" asked Spencer as he gently lifted his daughter out of her crib, causing him to feel a wet diaper.

Diana started babbling as Spencer carried her to the changing table where he worked on getting Diana into a clean diaper, and after she had a clean diaper on she started whimpering, causing Spencer to recognize her cry saying that she's hungry.

"Let's go get you a midnight snack." said Spencer as he left the nursery with Diana in his arms just as Clarissa exited the master bedroom.

"I heard you two through the baby monitor." said Clarissa.

"She's hungry." said Spencer as he passed Diana to his wife.

A few minutes later Clarissa was sitting up in bed nursing Diana while Spencer took a quick shower, and after his shower and Diana was burped both Spencer and Clarissa were fast asleep.


	15. JJ Joins the BAU and Diana Goes Camping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized that in the episode 100, JJ mentioned that she has been in the BAU for six years meaning that she joined in 2003, but I decided that she will join in 2004 instead since she recently turned 24.  
> I created a new OC and her name is Lucy Robertson who is 48 year old FBI certified nanny. Lucy retired from the FBI in the summer of 2003 (She knows Alex Blake well since they worked on the same floor at the Hoover Building and Alex referred Spencer and Clarissa to Lucy) when her husband committed suicide after their only son was killed in Iraq in March of 2003, causing her to go into the live in nanny business since she wanted to care for and protect children of FBI agents so she's up to date on self defense and shooting. Lucy moved into the pool house/guest house since there's an in ground swimming pool in the backyard of the Reid family house, and when Spencer is on a case and when Clarissa has to work the night shift (She's required to work third shift one week a month causing Spencer and Clarissa to decide on a live in nanny to have continuity for their daughter) she stays in the guest bedroom that she picked out but otherwise she takes care of Diana during the day and cooks meals for Spencer and Clarissa since she wants to put some weight on Spencer.
> 
> Right now it's the end of June and beginning July during the year 2004 in this story, and with the 4th of July happening Spencer and Clarissa decided that it wouldn't hurt to take their six month old daughter camping for the first time since I read that it doesn't hurt to start taking a baby early despite the few adjustments that would need to be made when it comes to sleeping arrangements for Diana who loves snuggling with her daddy when he's home.

Spencer got out of his car just as Clarissa pulled into the garage, making him wait for her to come over to him.

"Welcome home, Spence." said Clarissa as she kissed her husband.

"Its good to be home, and at least we got home at the same time." said Spencer as he pushed the button to close the garage.

"Today was my last day working second shift since Lisa will be back from vacation tomorrow." said Clarissa as they walked into the house together where they hung their light sweaters on the coat rack and Spencer put his Glock into his safe before they headed into the kitchen hand in hand to find Lucy, their live-in nanny, making something on the stove and the tea kettle whistling.

"When you two called I decided to make you some tea and grilled cheese sandwiches." said Lucy.

"You didn't have to Lucy." said Spencer as he fixed himself and Clarissa some tea.

"You were on a jet for five hours Spencer, and you know that I made it my goal to put some much needed weight on your thin frame." said Lucy as she pointed at the table, causing Spencer and Clarissa to sit down, "I haven't started a load of laundry yet so as soon as you two are done eating I will start a load before heading to my little apartment." said Lucy as she thought about the pool house she decided to live in so Spencer and Clarissa could have privacy when Spencer's home.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were eating their late night dinner, and after rinsing off their dishes they checked on Diana together before heading to the master bathroom where they decided to take a bubble bath together as they talked about the past four days before heading to bed themselves.

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Six hours later Spencer entered Diana's nursery to find the six month old laying awake in her crib, and Diana's face broke into a huge grin when she saw her daddy who scooped her out of the crib and changed her diaper before taking her to her mommy so she could have some breakfast before her daddy burped her.

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A half hour later Spencer and Clarissa entered the kitchen with Diana on Spencer's hip, only to find Lucy placing plates blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon on the kitchen table.

"You two sit down and eat your breakfast." said Lucy as she took her young charge from her daddy "I bet you were happy to see that your daddy's finally home." cooed Lucy as she tickled the baby's girl tummy to get Diana to squeal with laughter.

A few minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, and Lucy were eating their breakfast while Diana sat in her high chair snacking on some Cheerios.

"What's the agenda for today since you're on stand down for the holiday weekend?" asked Lucy as she kept an eye on Diana while eating her own breakfast.

"We're supposed to go over to my godparents house for dinner this evening, and Alex mentioned that you're invited." said Spencer before putting a forkful of bacon into his mouth and chewing.

"I always liked your godmother, and I'm glad that she referred me to you two." said Lucy.

"Diana liked you instantly, and other nannies that we interviewed were judgmental of Spencer's career choice." said Clarissa just as she felt something hit her before hearing baby laughter.

Spencer looked a his daughter who was putting a Cheerio into her mouth.

"Little miss Diana Ethel Reid, did you just throw cereal at mommy?" asked Spencer.

"Daddy." said Diana as she pointed at her daddy.

Spencer and Clarissa exchanged glances as Spencer held back his tears.

"You just made my day, Diana, by saying your fist word." said Spencer as he got up and kissed his daughter's head before smoothing back Diana's brown curly hair.

"Definitely a daddy's girl." said Clarissa and Lucy in unison before Clarissa looked at Lucy.

"Are you packed up for when you go camping with Aaron, Haley, Spencer, Diana, and I on Thursday?" asked Clarissa as she thought about   
Spencer's suggestion to go camping for the 4th of July and her brother and sister in law asked if they could come so they had extra help with Diana before Lucy asked if they could tag along.

"Just about done." said Lucy as she thought about how she bonded with Spencer and Clarissa since they know what it's like to lose loved ones.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Three hours later Spencer was sitting at his desk working on his consults when Gideon came towards him, Morgan, and Trevor with a young blonde woman.

"Morgan, Reid, and Johnson, I would like you three to meet our new communications liaison, Special Agent Jennifer Jareau." said Gideon as he introduced Spencer, Morgan, and Trevor to JJ.

"Please call me JJ." said JJ as she explained what her duties were before Gideon went to show her the office that was set up for her.

A minute later Morgan looked at Spencer.

"So what are you doing for the 4th of July weekend?" asked Morgan.

"I'm going camping with a few friends," said Spencer.

"Good." said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer was fixing himself some coffee when JJ joined him so she could fix herself some.

"Aren't you a bit younger than me?" asked JJ as she took in the young man who was wearing khakis, a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a light blue tie, and was wearing his glasses.

"I am since I'm 22, and I have been working for this unit for eight months and 15 days." said Spencer as he added a liberal amount of sugar.

"Would you like to go get dinner this evening so we can get to know each other since we will be mainly working together at police stations and field offices?" asked JJ as she thought about the crush she was developing on Spencer.

"I already have plans tonight that I can't cancel." said Spencer.

"What type of plans?" asked JJ.

"I'm supposed to meet with my godparents for dinner this evening because my godfather is home from India, and after dinner I'm planning on working on a paper that I'm hoping to publish." said Spencer.

"What about tomorrow?" asked JJ.

"I have a guest lecture to give tomorrow for my godmother." said Spencer.

"OK, but what about this weekend since it's the 4th of July?" asked JJ.

"I'm going camping with a group of friends." said Spencer.

"OK." said JJ before walking away just as Morgan approached him.

"Did she ask you out on a date?" asked Morgan.

"She did, but I turned her down since I refuse to date colleagues and my uncle once told me that I should never date someone who carries a gun." said Spencer.

"That's my motto when it comes to dating, but aren't you ever going to go on dates?" asked Morgan.

"I'm happy with how my life is right now, and over the past nine months I made a bunch of friends that aren't associated with the FBI." said Spencer as he thought about the friends he and Clarissa made in church before he walked away to head back to his desk and finish up his consults so he could leave at 5.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later that evening Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, and Lucy entered Alex's and James' house, and before they knew it Spencer and James were cooking dinner together while Clarissa, Alex, and Lucy played with Diana.

"So what are you guys doing for the 4th of July?" asked James.

"Hotch, Haley, Lucy, Clarissa, and I are taking Diana camping for the first time so it will be interesting." said Spencer.

"I agree since Alex and I took Ethan camping when he was a baby," said James.

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Two days later on July 3rd at 6:30 PM the Reids, Hotchners, and Lucy arrived at a campground right by a lake, and after Spencer and Hotch worked together on putting three tents up they joined the ladies who were already sitting in lounge chairs and drinking soda.

"We would have appreciated your help, ladies." said Hotch.

Haley and Clarissa smirked at each other.

"I think we preferred to watch our men put up the tents." said Haley.

Diana started squirming on her mommy's lap.

"Daddy." said Diana before signing that she wanted to cuddle with him.

Spencer took his daughter from Clarissa, and Diana instantly settled in her daddy's arms.

"I'm surprised how she's already saying daddy at six months old." said Hotch.

"When going through my mother's old journals I found out that I said my first word at five months old, and my mom mentioned in her journal that she read to me a lot when I was a baby." said Spencer as he thought about how comfortable he is talking about his late parents with Hotch, Haley, and Lucy.

Clarissa looked at her brother and her sister in law.

"It's helpful that we have Spencer's old baby book and his mother's old journals even though they only go until her death, but they have helped us find out if Diana's early in development." said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at his watch and saw that it was already 7:30 PM.

"Should we get a fire started and make S'mores?" asked Spencer before he lifted Diana up a bit and turned her around so she could be standing on his lap.

Hotch, Haley, Clarissa, and Lucy all nodded in agreement, and Spencer handed his daughter over to Clarissa so he could make a fire the old fashioned way.

"Going to use matches?" asked Hotch as he watched Haley and Lucy get everything ready for S'mores.

"The sun is at a good angle for me to use my glasses." said Spencer as he gathered what he needed before removing his glasses.

Less than three minutes later Spencer had a fire started, allowing everyone to start roasting marshmallows over the fire as Diana who was bundled up against mosquitoes and the evening chill now sat in her baby seat a good distance away from the fire as she watched her mommy, daddy, auntie Haley, uncle Aaron, and her nanny roast marshmallows over the fire.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

20 minutes later everyone had their fill of S'mores, Spencer decided to head to Clarissa's car and get his guitar out of its hiding place.

"When did you start playing the guitar?" asked Hotch.

"Three months ago, and when it comes to my math skills and eidetic memory I'm picking up songs very fast." said Spencer.

"I hope that you're not playing or singing any "Nas" songs." said Hotch as he thought about how Morgan has been educating Spencer on Nas.

Spencer snorted.

"What Morgan doesn't know is that when it comes to my godmother majoring in linguistics and getting me into linguistics she already got me into Nas quite a bit. I refuse to say anything to him because I'm deciding to play dumb around him because I rarely get to poke any fun at him." smirked Spencer, causing some laughter from everyone including Diana.

"I would love to be the fly on the wall as soon as he finds out that you have been familiar with Nas for a couple of years." said Hotch as he thought about how he gets to see how different Spencer is outside the office.

Spencer smiled softly at his wife who had a bundled up Diana sitting on her lap.

"The first song goes out to you." said Spencer as he started playing the opening chords to "Can't Help Falling in Love" before singing the song directly to his wife, and when he was finished Clarissa was wiping tears.

"That was beautiful, Spencer." said Clarissa as she leaned a bit to give her husband a kiss.

"I thought that playing the song that we danced to during our first dance as husband and wife would be a good idea." said Spencer before looking at Hotch, Haley, Lucy, and Clarissa, "Any requests?" asked Spencer as he listed off a bunch of songs by Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan.

Less than a minute late he was playing one of the songs that he listed as Hotch, Haley, Clarissa, and Lucy decided to sing along. After Spencer was finished they ended up singing a couple of more songs before everyone crawled into their tents to get some sleep.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer and Clarissa crawled out of their tent with Diana only to find Lucy already making breakfast and some coffee over the fire.

"Breakfast will be done in ten minutes." said Lucy.

"OK." said Spencer and Clarissa in unison as they placed Diana in her baby seat so they could head to the area that they set up to do their business.

10 minutes later the Reid family, the Hotchners, and Lucy were eating breakfast as they talked about what they wanted to do for the day while Diana who had a rough night due to cutting in another tooth peacefully slept in her baby seat.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer, Clarissa, Hotch, and Haley were hiking in a nearby forest and Spencer couldn't help calling various plants, birds, and trees by their scientific names, and after they were finished with their hike Spencer and Clarissa decided to put on their swim suits and go swimming in the lake.

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The next day Spencer, Clarissa, and Lucy entered the Reid family home with a sleeping Diana, and after putting Diana in her crib for a nap Spencer and Clarissa decided to take a shower together while Lucy decided to go through their laundry.

"Camping with my brother, sister in law, and the nanny ruins our sex lives." muttered Clarissa.

"Just be glad that you were able to get me away from my books and academic journals." teased Spencer.

"Smartass." said Clarissa as she slapped her husband on the chest before locking lips with him.


	16. July of 2004 to December of 2004

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Other than Spencer having some OOC moments in this chapter, there are time jumps in this chapter.

The Monday after the 4th of July, JJ looked at her teammates as they were eating lunch at a nearby diner in Quantico.

"Why don't you guys tell me a bit about yourselves since I don't want to read your files ywr." said JJ.

Gideon decided to go first, and after Hotch, Garcia, Morgan, and Trevor went, Spencer looked at JJ as he pushed his glasses up his nose a bit.

"I'm an only child, and I was orphaned at four after my parents were killed by a drunk driver." said Spencer.

"Did a family member raise you?" asked JJ.

"My mom's older brother and his wife adopted me, and despite graduating high school at 12 years old, they made sure that I interacted with kids my age even after moving to New Haven with me when I went to Yale." said Spencer.

"Do you visit your aunt and uncle as often as this job allows you?" asked JJ.

Spencer sighed sadly.

"They were killed by a drunk driver when I was 19." said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "Luckily I didn't let the deaths of my aunt and uncle stop me from earning my second PhD because the university helped me by having me attend grief counseling while having a group of friends who made sure that I didn't isolate myself." said Spencer before resuming his lunch to state that he's done talking.

xxxxxxxxxx

Two weeks later during Spencer pulled up into the garage and entered the house to find Clarissa standing by the back patio door watching the steady rain shower that started when Spencer was driving back from Quantico.

"Hey." said Spencer as he wrapped his arms around Clarissa.

Clarissa turned herself around in her husband's embrace and smiled at Spencer who was wearing khakis, a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a black tie with white polka dots.

"Welcome home." said Clarissa as she stood on her tip toes so she could kiss her husband.

"Where's Diana and Lucy?" asked Spencer as he thought about his now seven month old daughter and their live in nanny.

"When you called me four hours ago to tell me that you were coming home this afternoon, Lucy insisted on taking Diana to her play group and going grocery shopping for me so we can spend some time together." said Clarissa before winking at her husband, "They left 10 minutes ago, and it's going to be three hours before they come home." said Clarissa before turning back to watch the rain shower outside.

Spencer watched the rain shower with his wife before smiling at a memory.

"Remember when we were dating and we were sitting on a bench talking about kids when all of a sudden it started raining causing you to drag me into the field and got me to dance in the rain with you before it started down pouring causing us to splash around in puddles?" asked Spencer.

"I do." smiled Clarissa before forming an idea as she noticed the rain shower turning into a torrential down pour, causing puddles to form in their large fenced in back yard, "Since we have three hours before Lucy and Diana come home, do you want to go outside and dance in the rain to wash away what you just witnessed in St. Louis?" asked Clarissa as she thought about what her brother told her about how the unsub ended up committing suicide in front of Spencer, Hotch, Morgan, Trevor, and Gideon despite saving the last victim.

Spencer looked at his wife who was wearing denim shorts, a red t-shirt, and had her long dark hair was pulled into a messy bun before noticing the pleading look that his self confident wife was giving him.

"Let's me change out of my work clothes first." said Spencer as he attempted to walk away only for Clarissa to grab him.

"What you're wearing is fine because we will have to shower and change into dry clothes when we come inside." said Clarissa as she rushed towards the bathroom and grabbed a couple of towels and set them on the nearby end table, "Come on." said Clarissa as she kicked off her socks and shoes causing Spencer to follow suit before they ran outside bare foot.

After spending 10 minutes dancing in the downpour and splashing around in puddles they were totally soaked head to toe and covered in some mud from one of Spencer's clumsy moments causing them to fall into their garden.

"It's nice to see you loosen up when you're home because Aaron told me that you act older than your age at work so people will take you seriously." laughed Clarissa as she reached out and moved her husband's wet bangs out of his eyes so she could see his brown eyes through his glasses.

"I know, but it helps that we're polar opposites when it comes to our personalities." said Spencer as he twirled his wife around.

"After my first week at Yale, I actually noticed you on campus and thought about approaching you." said Clarissa.

"Why didn't you?" asked Spencer as he dipped his wife causing Clarissa to laugh.

"I was developing a crush on you and didn't know what to say." said Clarissa.

"Most of the time you're more self confident than me, but we both know that you brought me out of my shell." teased Spencer.

Clarissa slapped her husband's soaking wet chest.

"I know." laughed Clarissa before becoming serious, "During the next couple of months I ended up watching you a couple of times, and when I saw you sitting on that bench with tears falling down your face I instantly knew that I should approach and see if you were OK."

"I'm glad you did." said Spencer as he twirled his wife.

20 minutes later Clarissa looked at her husband and admired how his soaking wet clothes were clinging to him in all the right places.

"I have plans for you tonight, Dr. Spencer Reid." smirked Clarissa.

Spencer looked at his wife and admired the sight of Clarissa's soaking wet clothes showing off all of her curves and swells while thinking back to when he told her that she still looks beautiful when she was trying to lose the baby weight that she gained when she was pregnant with Diana.

"Really, nurse Clarissa Reid?" asked a smirking Spencer.

"My plans will have to wait until Diana's asleep, but for now let's go swimming in our clothes since we're already soaked." said Clarissa as she took hold of her husband's hand and started dragging him towards their in ground swimming pool that she forgot to cover up after her morning swim.

Spencer shook his head at his free spirited wife as he headed towards the pool with her, and as soon as they placed their glasses on the patio table they stood by the deep end of the pool and jumped in the pool at the same time.

After spending 45 minutes of swimming around the pool like gleeful children and playfully dunking each other before having a couple of make out sessions, Spencer and Clarissa headed inside to warm up by taking a hot and steamy shower together before curling up on the couch in the living room and watched a movie together before Lucy and an excited Diana who was happy to have her daddy home again came home.

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August of 2004

Clarissa looked at Spencer.

"During your two week annual leave, we should take Diana to Las Vegas so she can meet her great aunt Elena." said Clarissa.

"You're taking time off too?" asked Spencer.

"I told my boss that you had some leave coming up, and she agreed to give me two weeks off." said Clarissa.

Lucy looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"Mind if I come with?" asked Lucy.

"You don't have to come with us since you could use this time to have a vacation of your own." said Clarissa.

"Would you two bring a seven month old baby girl on outings to places that aren't baby or child friendly or have her be in the same room as you  
two when you're having mommy and daddy time?" asked Lucy.

Spencer and Clarissa instantly blushed.

"Lucy's right that she should come with us." said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at their live in nanny.

"Let us pay for your plane ticket and hotel room." said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

A week later Spencer and Clarissa entered Elena's room where they saw Elena reading a book.

"Hi aunt Elena." said Spencer.

Elena stopped reading and smiled when she saw her adoptive nephew holding a baby carrier.

"I finally get to meet my great-niece?" asked Elena.

Spencer inwardly smiled when he realized that his adoptive aunt was lucid.

"Yes." said Spencer as he set down the baby carrier before removing his seven month old daughter from her car seat, "Aunt Elena, I would like to introduce you to Diana Ethel Reid." said Spencer as he placed Diana in his adoptive aunt's arms.

"She's more beautiful in person." said Elena as she took in the sight of the blue eyed, curly brown haired baby girl before looking at Spencer and Clarissa, "Are you two going to have more kids soon?"

"We decided to wait until Diana's a little bit older and out of diapers." said Clarissa.

"There's nothing wrong with deciding to wait a couple of years since you're both 22." said Elena before Diana started getting fussy, causing her to end up in her father's arms where she instantly calmed down. "You are going to be in trouble later Spencer."

"With how Diana has me wrapped around her finger, I already know that I will be in trouble in the future." said Spencer.

"Are you two here for my lecture?" asked Elena.

Spencer and Clarissa exchanged sad glances as they got up and left the room with Diana so they could go get lunch before heading to the cemetery.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer and Clarissa were standing by William and Diana Reid's graves with little Diana on Spencer's hip.

"Hi mom. Hi dad." said Spencer as he took a deep breath, "I would like to introduce you to your first grandchild, Diana Ethel Reid who will be turning eight months old next week." said Spencer before he started to tell his parents about the milestones that Diana already reached before the family of three headed back to their hotel.

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October 2004

Spencer was working on his consults when Morgan looked at him.

"Isn't it your 23rd birthday tomorrow?" asked Morgan.

"Yeah." said Spencer.

"Doing anything special during your birthday weekend?" asked Morgan.

"Other than sleeping in, doing household chores, and running errands, I'm going horseback riding before it gets too cold." said Spencer.

"Have fun." said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer woke up to babbling and a little hand on his nose just as he felt someone slipping on his glasses for him and a few seconds later he was seeing his grinning nine-month-old daughter.

"Daddy." beamed Diana.

"Happy birthday." said Clarissa as she moved Diana so Spencer could sit up.

As soon as Diana was on her daddy's lap Clarissa left the room Spencer smiled at Diana.

"What is mommy up to?" asked Spencer as he cuddled with his nine month old daughter who was happily babbling as she chewed on a teething ring just as Clarissa entered the bedroom with breakfast.

"Bringing you breakfast in bed, and Diana might want you to share some of your scrambled eggs with her since she's still most likely hungry." said  
Clarissa as she settled herself on her side so she could feed her husband.

As soon as Spencer was done eating, Spencer and Clarissa were getting their riding clothes on and dropping Diana off at Hotch and Haley's before heading off to Rock Creek Park.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer and Clarissa rode side by side on their horses, and Spencer looked at his wife who was comfortable on her rented horse.

"How did I ever deserve a woman like you?" asked Spencer.

"Unlike most men our age, you know how to treat a girl right while I ended up turning down most boys since they were jerks growing up." said Clarissa before looking at her husband who looked happy to be living his southwestern roots again, "How did you ever deserve me while I'm not that smart as you?"

"I love your sweet caring nature while loving me for who I am while not walking away when you found out that I am a genius." said Spencer.

"There were some guys who walked away when they found out that I'm into "Star Wars," "Star Trek," "Dr. Who," and a bunch of other television shows, so I was glad when you recognized my nerdy references." said Clarissa.

For the next half hour Spencer and Clarissa rode their rented horses while they talked about anything but work before they had to return their horses.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that evening Spencer and Hotch were sitting in the Hotchner's living room floor playing with Diana while Haley and Clarissa were in the kitchen cooking one of Spencer's favorite foods when Diana decided to use the couch to stand up and walk towards the end table, causing Spencer to stand up and walk a couple of feet away.

"Come to daddy for a hug." coaxed Spencer just as Haley and Clarissa entered the room causing both women to gasp when they realized what Spencer was trying to do.

All four adults watched anxiously as Diana let go of the end table and took a bunch of wobbly steps into her daddy's arms while Spencer and Clarissa cried happy tears.

"Daddy's so proud of you." said Spencer as he kissed his daughter's cheek before passing his daughter to Clarissa.

"Mommy's proud of you too." said Clarissa just as the oven timer went off.

"Dinner's done." said Haley.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A couple of weeks later Lucy smiled when she saw Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana in their Halloween costumes for Diana's first Halloween.

"Diana makes a really cute ghost." said Lucy as she smiled at the "Ghostbusters" theme that Spencer and Clarissa decided to do.

"We know." said Clarissa.

"Before you three start trick or treating I must take a picture." said Lucy as she grabbed her camera.

A minute later Lucy was taking a picture of the family of three, and a few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were going door to door in their neighborhood trick or treating with Diana before Spencer and Clarissa headed off to a horror film movie marathon at one of their favorite movie theaters.

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November 2004

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"What are you doing for Thanksgiving break?" asked Morgan.

"I'm going to New Haven for Thanksgiving since one of my uncle's former coworkers invited me to spend Thanksgiving with him and his wife since the fourth anniversary of aunt Ethel's and uncle Gordon's death is this Sunday, and then I'm staying in New Haven for a three additional days since I've been asked to give a guest lecture about how I use my PhD in mathematics for the FBI." said Spencer.

"I thought that you hate having to give guest lectures?" asked Morgan.

"Unless I'm giving a guest lecture at Yale, MIT, or Georgetown I really don't like giving guest lectures anywhere else." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxx

The next Sunday, Clarissa looked down at her daughter as she fastened Diana's diaper in their hotel room bathroom.

"Daddy's a bit sad today since it's the fourth anniversary of the deaths of his aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon." said Clarissa as she got her daughter dressed for the day.

Diana babbled at her mommy as her mommy got her dressed, and as soon as she was dressed Clarissa lifted up her 11-month-old daughter.

"Let's go wake up daddy." said Clarissa as she exited the bathroom with Diana.

A few seconds later Diana grinned when she saw her daddy stirring in the queen sized bed.

"Daddy." said Diana.

Spencer cracked opened his eyes and blearily saw his two favorite girls just as Clarissa set Diana onto the bed.

"Come here Diana." said Spencer.

Diana instantly crawled at her daddy before plopping herself onto chest.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two days later Spencer was pushing Diana's stroller as he and Clarissa approached the bench that he met Clarissa at, and as soon as he removed Diana from her stroller the family of three was sitting on the bench with a bundled up Diana sitting on her daddy's lap while facing him.

"This was where mommy and I met on this date four years ago. November 30th is also special for your mommy and me because on the one year anniversary of the day I met your mommy I asked her to marry me at this bench, and I married your mommy two years ago on this date." said Spencer.

Diana happily babbled at her daddy.

"With how beautiful you are baby girl, your uncle Aaron and I are going to band together and scare every boy who wants to ask you out." said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her daughter.

"Unless you date a boy who's a lot like your daddy." said Clarissa.

Spencer shook his head as he saw his daughter falling asleep.

"Let's take Diana back to the hotel since Lucy's going to watch her when we go out for dinner." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later that evening Spencer and Clarissa who were dressed to the nines were at a four star restaurant in New Haven smiling and laughing as they celebrated the four year anniversary of the day they met and their two year wedding anniversary.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

December of 2004

Clarissa woke up to her 11-month-old daughter squeezing her nose.

"Mommy." said Diana.

"What beautiful?" asked Clarissa as she put on her glasses.

"Happy birthday." said Spencer as he entered the master bedroom with a tray filled with breakfast.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were eating their breakfast in bed while Diana sat in between her parents enjoying the few bites of pancakes and scrambled eggs that her parents were slipping her.

"When did you get home from Detroit?" asked Clarissa.

"I got home a half hour ago, and Lucy was already making breakfast so I offered to bring Diana up while bringing you breakfast in bed." said Spencer.

"Thanks." said Clarissa before looking at the alarm clock, "I wish that I didn't have to go to work today because we could be spending time together since you were gone for a week." sighed Clarissa.

"Other than having today off, Gideon pulled strings to make sure that we're on stand down until after Christmas because he knows that I don't want to miss Diana's birthday next week Tuesday." said Spencer.

"We must get him something special for Christmas since he's also Diana's godfather." said Clarissa.

"We will since I ended up pulling his name for the Secret Santa present exchange that I'm doing with my teammates." said Spencer

"I just can't believe that Diana will be one next Tuesday." said Clarissa as she looked at her baby girl.

"I can't believe it either, but I don't regret every minute I have spent with her when I'm home." said Spencer.

"Me too, and the next time we have a child, hopefully it's a boy." said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later that night Spencer and Clarissa were talking and laughing over an expensive Italian dinner over wine before heading to the dance floor so they could get some dancing in before heading home.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Five days later Hotch, Haley, and Sean watched Spencer and Clarissa help their daughter blow out her birthday candle, and after Clarissa sampled some cake herself she smiled at her daughter.

"Yum." said Clarissa as she watched her husband start the video camera.

Diana copied her mommy's movements, and within 10 minutes Diana was covered head to toe in birthday cake causing all five adults to smile and laugh at the hyper one year old girl.

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Two days later Spencer was sitting at the round table with his teammates for the Secret Santa gift exchange, and Spencer smiled at Gideon's reaction of his new train set.

"Thank you Spencer." said Gideon.

"You're welcome." said Spencer before he opened up his gift and shook his head when he saw some Nas CDs, "I've these CDs for two years Morgan." said Spencer causing Hotch and Gideon to laugh.

"Then why did you tell me that you weren't familiar with Nas?" asked Morgan.

"I decided to poke some fun at you, and I was trying to wait for the right time to tell you." said Spencer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A large time jump is happening after this chapter because I like to include parts of episodes in my story. So Extreme Aggressor will be included in the next chapter.


	17. Extreme Aggressor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm now in the season 1 arc for this story, and I'm planning on not doing every episode of season one like "We Won't Get Fooled Again", and I'm planning on that there will be one teammate who will end up finding out about Spencer's secret family when I do Plain Sight so please feel free to take guesses on which character will learn about Clarissa and Diana and will keep Spencer's, Hotch's, and Gideon's secret.

Spencer looked at the vacated desk that once belonged to Trevor six months ago as he packed up.

"You're heading home kid?" asked Morgan.

"I am." said Spencer

"Well, I'm going to a bar with some female trainees, and if you go with me I could help you find a date." said Morgan.

"I'm not interested in dating, and I have better things to do than go to bars." said Spencer as he slung his messenger bag over his shoulder just as Hotch hurried down the stairs.

"Heading home Reid?" asked Hotch as he looked at his brother in law.

"Yeah." said Spencer.

"Since you took the train in this morning, let me give you a ride." said Hotch.

"Thanks." said Spencer.

10 minutes later Spencer was in the front passenger seat of Hotch's car, and Spencer looked at Hotch.

"Have you and Haley come up with a name for my nephew?" asked Spencer as he thought about how hard he's been working on hiding his excitement about his nephew at the office.

"We're still talking about names, and you and my sister had it easy when it came to naming my niece." said Hotch.

"When I told Clarissa the name of my biological mom, she instantly loved the name Diana. So I didn't argue with her about naming my firstborn daughter Diana since I told Clarissa that I always thought about naming my first daughter after my biological mom." said Spencer.

"What if Diana was a boy?" asked Hotch.

"We would have named our son Tristan William Reid since my middle name is Tristan and William after my dad. said Spencer.

"I will let Haley know that Tristan is off limits." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hotch pulled up in front of the Reid family home just as Clarissa pulled into the garage, and Spencer looked at Hotch.

"See you tomorrow." said Spencer as he ran into the garage where Clarissa was waiting.

"How was work?" asked Spencer.

"One of young patients I was in charge of drew you a picture when she asked me about my wedding band." said Clarissa as she pulled a picture  
out of a pocket of her scrub shirt, "She ended up signing her name."

Spencer smiling at the picture that a little girl named Isabel drew of him, Clarissa, and Diana together.

"I take it that you ended up showing her a picture of you, Diana, and me and she developed a crush on me." said Spencer.

"Yes, and I think that it's cute that the little girls that I help take care of develop a crush on you." said Clarissa as she kissed her husband on the lips.

After kissing for a minute, Spencer broke out of their kiss and looked into his wife's blue eyes.

"Speaking of little girls, we have our own waiting inside for us with her nanny." said Spencer as he took a hold of his wife's hands and led Clarissa into the house.

As soon as Spencer had his gun locked into the safe in the foyer, Diana came running to her mommy and daddy.

"Mommy! Daddy!" shouted Diana as she ran to her parents.

Spencer swooped up his daughter and blew a raspberry on her belly before passing the giggling nearly 21 month old little girl to her mommy.

"Were you a good girl for Lucy?" asked Clarissa just as Lucy entered the foyer.

"She was, and she helped clean the house today." said Lucy.

Spencer sniffed the air.

"What's for dinner?" asked Spencer.

"Chicken pot pie, and it will be done in 10 minutes." said Lucy before heading back to the kitchen so she could set the table.

Clarissa looked hat her husband who was licking his lips just like herself.

"I think we scored a good nanny who insists on cooking for us so we can relax after a hard day at work." whispered Clarissa before she and Spencer headed to the bathroom with their daughter so they could wash up before dinner.

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Two and a half hours later Spencer and Clarissa were kneeling by their daughter's crib as Diana was just about to fall asleep.

"Daddy loves you baby girl." said Spencer as he gave Diana a kiss on the forehead.

"Wuv you too daddy." said Diana.

Clarissa gave Diana a kiss on the forehead.

"Mommy loves you." said Clarissa.

"Wuv you too mommy." said Diana before falling asleep, causing Spencer to put the guard rail up.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were plopping down onto the couch.

"I can't believe that Diana will be 21 months old tomorrow." said Spencer as Merton jumped onto his lap, causing him to start petting their two and a half year old Maine Coon cat.

"Me neither, and I can't wait to spoil our nephew." said Clarissa as she joined in on petting their family cat.

"Aaron asked me about how we decided on baby names, and he promised not to name his son Tristan since we already called dibs on it." said Spencer.

Clarissa pulled Spencer into a kiss just as Spencer's work phone rang, causing Spencer and Clarissa to groan before Spencer answered his phone and listened to Hotch before hanging up.

"I'm going to Seattle, and Hotch is on his way to pick me up since he's going to have me read the file on the way before sending me to get Gideon who's going to be coming with us." said Spencer as he got off the couch.

"Please stay safe, and let Aaron know that tomorrow after work I will go help Haley out" said Clarissa.

Five minutes later Spencer was in Hotch's car.

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Spencer opened up the door to the room that Gideon was teaching in and noticed cadets looking at him as he stepped in. He held up the file that Hotch gave him and tapped on it.

"Excuse me." said Gideon before meeting Spencer out in the hallway.

A few seconds later Spencer was walking to Gideon's office with Gideon, briefing him on the latest case.

"They're calling him the Seattle strangler. 4 victims in 4 months. He keeps 'em alive 7 days. The handle serves as a crank." said Spencer.

"Allowing him to control the rate of suffocation." said Gideon.

"To prolong it?" asked Spencer as he looked at one of his mentors in the eyes.

"To enjoy it. Seattle's hit a wall?" asked Gideon.

"Physical evidence is nonexistent. There are no tangible leads." said Spencer as Gideon took the file.

"And another girl is missing." said Gideon as he opened up his office door causing Spencer to follow Gideon into Gideon's office, "I'll the case file  
over. I'll get some thoughts to you ASAP." said Gideon.

Hotch and Morgan stepped into the room.

"You're gonna be with us in Seattle ASAP." said Hotch.

Gideon looked at the acting unit chief in shock as he removed his reading glasses and Morgan held up a picture.

"23-year-old Heather Woodland." said Morgan as Gideon took the picture.

"Before she left for lunch, she downloaded an email with a time-delayed virus attached. The killer's virus wiped her hard drive and left this on the screen." said Hotch as he handed Gideon a picture of the message that was taken on the screen.

""For heaven's sake, catch me before I kill more. I cannot control myself."" read Gideon as he headed to a picture he had on the wall.

"He never keeps them for more than 7 days, which means we have fewer than 36 hours to find her." said Hotch.

"They want you back in the saddle. You ready?" asked Morgan.

"Looks like medical leave's over, boss." said Spencer as he thought about how it was only him, Hotch, and Morgan in the field allowing him to participate in raids more often.

"They sure they want me?" asked Gideon.

"The order came from the director." said Hotch.

"Well, we'd better get started." said Gideon.

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Their driver pulled up by the jet at Dulles, Spencer got out of the front passenger seat and carried his bags to the jet, and as he reached the top of the stairs he saw Hotch talking to a higher up making him wonder if he will be married to his unit chief's little sister instead of the senior agent's little sister just as Hotch started coming up the stairs, causing Spencer to get inside and load up his bags.

A few minutes after the jet took off, Spencer started briefing with Hotch and Morgan as Gideon joined them.

"His first victim was 26-year-old Melissa Kirsh. Stab wounds, strangulation." said Spencer.

"Wait, wait. Back up. Back up." said Morgan, causing Spencer to look at him, "He stabbed her... And then strangled her to finish her off?"

"Other way around. Why do you think he started using the belt with the second murder?" asked Gideon.

"Strangulation with your bare hands is not as easy as one would believe. He tried, probably found that it took too long..." said Spencer.

"So he stabbed her instead." said Morgan.

"And realized it would be hours cleaning up the blood." said Hotch.

"Next time, our boy's got a method- the belt." said Morgan.

"He's learning, perfecting his scenario. Becoming a better killer." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer carried his bags into the Seattle Field Office, and after going through security he followed his male teammates towards the room where the task force was working in when Morgan looked at the young man who became like a younger brother to him over the past one year and 11 months.

"He never stands with his back to a window. When I was between him and a doorway, he asked me to move." said Morgan.

Spencer stopped walking and looked at Morgan as Hotch joined them.

"That's hyper vigilance. It's not uncommon in post traumatic stress disorder." said Spencer as he thought about the PTSD he dealt with after the goal post incident, causing his aunt and uncle to send him to therapy.

"Just how much disorder are we talking about?" asked Morgan.

"Morgan, it's been 6 months. Everything's ok." said Hotch before they headed to the room, and a few minutes later Hotch was introducing them, "This is special agent Gideon, special agent Morgan, our expert on obsessional crimes, special agent Reid." introduced Hotch.

"Dr. Reid." interjected Gideon.

"Dr. Reid, our expert on... well, everything. And after 2 years busting my butt in this office, I hope you all remember me." said Hotch, causing laughter from agents who remembered him.

"He's willing to travel with the body." said Gideon as he looked at the board.

"Then he drives a vehicle capable of concealing one." said Hotch.

"1 in 7.4 drivers in Seattle owns an SUV." said Spencer.

"Explorer with tinted windows." said Morgan.

"Explorers rate higher with women." said Spencer.

"But how do we know it's his car? Ted Bundy drove a VW Bug." said Morgan.

"What about a Jeep Cherokee?" asked Hotch.

"Jeeps are more masculine." inserted Spencer.

"We all know how an unsub feels about asserting his masculinity." said Gideon.

Hotch looked at the agent who called them in.

"When did the bureau become involved in the case?" asked Hotch.

"After the fourth body. He dumped that one out of state." said the Seattle SAC.

"On purpose." said Hotch.

"If so, knowledge of law enforcement does suggest a criminal record." said Spencer before walking away.

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A golden retriever named Sandy looked at Spencer and instantly smelled a cat on the young man, causing her to bark like crazy while Spencer slowly backed away.

"Sandy, no, no, no. I'm so sorry." said David as he held Sandy back.

"No, it's OK. It's what we call the Reid Effect since every dog who encounters him smells his cat on him, and luckily if kids didn't adore him, I'd be worried if the Reid effect happened with kids." said Hotch as he saw the slight smirk that Spencer gave him before he became serious, "I'm agent Hotchner. This is special agent Dr. Reid."

David looked at Spencer and noticed that Dr. Reid looked around his sister's age.

"You look too young to have gone to medical school." said David.

"They're PhD's, 3 of them." said Spencer as Hotch started to pet Sandy.

"Are you a genius or something?" asked David.

"I don't believe that intelligence can be accurately quantified- but I do have an IQ of 187, an eidetic memory and can read 20,000 words per minute." said Spencer as he noticed the stare that David was giving him and Hotch smirking, "Yes, I'm a genius."

Sandy barked causing Hotch to look at Sandy.

"Sandy, you get a lot of attention, don't you?" asked Hotch as Spencer started to look around Heather's house.

"Yeah, Heather loves this dog. I feed her when Heather's away. Usually, she's fine, but... lately, she won't eat. It's almost like she can sense something's wrong." said David.

"Not sense. Smell. Our apocrine sweat gland releases secretions in response to emotional stress." said Spencer as he headed to an area where magazines were sitting.

Hotch looked at David.

"Sandy's worried because she knows you are." said Hotch as he thought about the pictures he has seen of Merton cuddling with Spencer when Spencer was feeling down.

"David, does your sister drive a Datsun Z?" asked Spencer.

"No, but she's in the market for one. How'd you know?" asked David as Sandy barked at the man who smelled like a cat, "Come on, Sandy." said  
David as he took Sandy out of the room.

Hotch approached Spencer who was looking through a magazine.

"There's an immediate relationship established between a buyer and seller, a level of trust. If I want to coax a young woman into my car..." said Spencer quietly.

"Offer her a test drive." said Hotch.

A few minutes later Spencer and Hotch were leaving Heather's house, and Spencer looked at Hotch.

"You know Clarissa's and my cat Merton?" asked Spencer.

"He broke the Reid Effect for cats." said Hotch.

"Actually cats always liked me, and at the pet expo that Clarissa and I adopted Merton at, Merton wouldn't let anyone pet him until Clarissa and I  
approached him so Merton practically adopted Clarissa and me." said Spencer.

"Every dog smells Merton on you." said Hotch.

"I know, and he misses me when I'm away, so he always enjoys lying on me when I'm home." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxx

Morgan was tossing a baseball up and down into the air as he talked.

"Okay, then how about the fact that on one hand, we have paranoid psychosis... But the autopsy protocol says what?" asked Morgan as he looked at Spencer who was spinning in his chair as a way of stimming.

Spencer stopped spinning his chair as he talked.

"Adhesive reside shows he put layer after layer of duct tape over his victims' eyes." said Spencer before he started spinning his chair a bit.

"He knows he wants to kill them, but he still covers their eyes. He doesn't want 'em looking at him, apparently. Okay, but then he takes the body and dumps it right out in the open, murder weapon nearby." said Morgan.

"Not the M.O. of a paranoid convinced he's being watched or surveilled." said Spencer as he thought about his adoptive aunt.

"Paranoid psychosis, but behavior that's not paranoid." said Morgan.

Gideon listened to his team talk before he turned to look at Spencer, Hotch, and Morgan.

"All right, enough. Let's tell them we're ready." said Gideon before he made his way to leave the room.

"We're ready?" asked a protesting Morgan before looking at Spencer who was writing something down, "Reid. You're good with this? We've got a woman who's only got a few hours left to live, an incomplete profile, and a unit chief on the verge of a nervous breakdown." said Morgan just as  
Gideon entered the room to grab something.

"They don't call them nervous breakdowns anymore." said Gideon before leaving the room.

"It's called a major depressive episode." said Spencer.

"I know, Reid." said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer stood by Hotch and Morgan as Gideon gave the profile to the entire task force.

"The unidentified subject is white and in his late 20's. He's someone you wouldn't notice at first. He's someone who'd blend into any crowd. The violent nature of the crime suggests a previous criminal record- petty crimes. Maybe auto theft. We've classified him as an organized killer- careful. Psychopathic as opposed to psychotic. He follows the news, has good hygiene. He's smart. 'Cause he's smart, the only physical evidence you'll find is what he wants you to find. He's mobile, car in good condition. Our guess- Jeep Cherokee, tinted windows. The murders have all involved rapes. But rape without penetration is a form of piquerism, and that tells us he's sexually inadequate. Psychiatric evaluations will show a history of paranoia stemming from a childhood trauma- death of a parent or family member. And now he feels persecuted and watched. Murder gives him a sense of power. Organized killers have a fascination with law enforcement. They will inject themselves into the investigation. They will even come forward as witnesses to see just how much the police really know. That makes them feel powerful, in control. Which is why I also think... In fact, I know... you have already interviewed him." said Gideon as a female agent named Elle Greenway approached them saying that she thinks that she knows someone.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A couple of hours later Spencer approached Gideon after searching through the house for Heather.

"There's no sign of the girl here. We can arrest him with probable cause, but we won't be able to hold him. Slessman's been at the top of the suspect list." said Spencer.

Gideon looked at the family who was being interviewed in the kitchen.

"Is that the mother?" asked Gideon.

Elle approached them.

"Grandmother. The mother died in a fire when he was 13." said Elle as she saw the look of sadness on the young agent's face.

"Probably not the only fire in his childhood." said Gideon before walking away.

"Before his Son of Sam murders, David Berkowitz set a multitude of fires." said Spencer.

"Exactly how much is a multitude?" asked Morgan as they met up with Gideon who was looking at pictures.

"According to his diary, 1, 400 and..." said Spencer.

"88." interjected Elle.

Spencer nodded before walking away.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was looking at an in progress game of Go when Elle joined him, Hotch, and Gideon in the attic.

"What kind of game is it?" asked Elle as she looked at Spencer who was fiddling with a game piece.

"In China, it's called wei-chi. Here we call it "go". It's considered to be the most difficult board game ever conceived." said Spencer.

"Chairman Mao required his generals to learn it." said Gideon.

"It also looks like he's playing himself." said Spencer as he thought about when he was playing himself, causing Clarissa to ask him to teach her how to play.

Elle looked down at the board.

"How can you tell?" asked Elle.

Spencer bent down a little bit and spun the board.

"This might provide an advantage, actually. Go is considered to be a particularly psychologically revealing game. There are profiles for every player- the conservative point counter, the aggressor, the finessor." said Spencer.

"What kind of player is Slessman?" asked Hotch as he thought about Clarissa telling him about the lessons that Spencer gave her.

Spencer crouched down and studied the board before looking up and made eye contact with Hotch and Gideon.

"Extreme aggressor." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer entered a room with Gideon and Elle as he listened to someone on the phone.

"Okay, here we go." said Morgan.

"What's the number 6 at the bottom of the screen?" asked Elle.

"Number of password attempts before the program wipes the hard drive." said Morgan as he watched Spencer jot down some notes after hanging up.

"There could be an email, or a journal in the computer, something that tells us where Heather is. Do you think you can break in?" asked Elle.

"In 6 tries?" asked Morgan.

"Try again. Fail again. Fail better." recited Gideon.

"Samuel Beckett." said Spencer.

Elle and Morgan stared at Spencer before Morgan decided to have a bit of fun.

"Try not. Do or do not." said Morgan.

Spencer looked at Gideon who looked confused, causing Spencer to answer.

"Yoda." said Spencer as he thought about one of his and Clarissa's favorite movies.

Gideon looked at a small bookshelf and noticed one of the books that he helped publish, and when Spencer saw a photo from Boston he gave Gideon a concerned look.

"I wanna talk to him." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer was waiting for a fax at the Seattle Field office when his brother in law approached them.

"We get an address on Linder?" asked Hotch.

"It's coming right now." said Spencer before looking up at his brother in law, "Does senior management want a field assessment on Gideon?" asked  
Spencer as he thought about the man who became a father to him.

Hotch looked at his brother in law and thought about how close Gideon had gotten to Spencer a few weeks after Spencer's adoptive parents were killed.

"Don't worry about it." said Hotch.

"Are they nervous about him being in charge?" asked Spencer.

"Aren't you on your way back to Slessman's house to help Morgan?" asked Hotch before walking away.

Spencer quickly thought about earlier, causing him to call Hotch back.

"Do you know why he always introduces me as Dr. Reid?" asked Spencer.

Hotch stopped walking and turned around and looked at the nearly 24 year old man as he thought about when Clarissa introduced him to 19 year old Spencer and how impressed he was with the list of degrees that Spencer had while thinking that Spencer looked much younger than 19.

"Because he knows that people see you as a kid, and he wants to make sure that they respect you." said Hotch before looking at the papers in Spencer's hand, "What's the address?"

Spencer quickly looked at the papers.

"Don't think it matters anymore." said Spencer.

Hotch sighed before looking at Spencer.

"Having three PhDs and two BAs at your age of 23 is something to be proud of, and a bunch of people are proud of you for not letting the deaths of your aunt and uncle stop you from finishing college before landing the job of your dreams." said Hotch before calling Elle.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting on Richard's bed as he fiddled with a CD, causing him to think about the empty causing him to think about a CD that he still had in his laptop at home, making him grab a paper clip and head up to the attic where Morgan was.

"I need a password. What am I looking for? What could I possibly be looking for?" asked Morgan who sat down as Spencer approached him.

"I've been thinking about the CD's." said Spencer as he headed towards the laptop with a case in his hand.

"Oh, Reid, come on. We tried the CD's. We searched, sifted, and sorted through every one of this guy's head-banging heavy metal collection. We gotta find something, or this girl is dead." said Morgan as a crouching down Spencer fiddled with the laptop.

"Think we may have missed the obvious." said Spencer as he used the paperclip to get the CD out of the laptop.

"What are you doing?" asked Morgan before noticing a Metallica CD, causing him to look at Spencer before removing it, "Reid, what made you think of this?"

"It was the only empty case." said Spencer as he held up the case.

"All right. I'm an insomniac who listens to Metallica to go to sleep at night. What song could possibly speak to me?" asked Morgan.

Spencer quickly thought about what Metallica song that Clarissa would play to help with his insomnia.

"Enter Sandman."" answered Spencer as he thought about how Clarissa introduced him to Metallica.

A short while later Morgan was calling Gideon.

"Gideon, Heather's alive." said Morgan as he saw officers standing or crouched behind Spencer who was sitting in front of the laptop before answering Gideon's question, "'Cause we're watching her right now." said Morgan before hanging up.

A few minutes later Morgan was sitting in the chair that Spencer was in, and Spencer looked at Morgan.

"Morgan, can you show me the last 12 images lined up next to each other?" asked Spencer.

Morgan looked at the man who has a PhD in engineering and attended MIT for two years, wondering why he's reluctant to use technology.

"Yeah." said Morgan as he followed Spencer's instructions.

Spencer looked at the screen.

"Right there. Right there. You see that? The light bulb hanging from the wire?" asked Spencer as he pointed at the pictures.

"Yeah, what about it?" asked Morgan.

"It's shifting positions like it's swaying... like the earth is tilting." said Spencer.

"Not the earth, doc. The ocean." said Morgan causing Morgan to call Hotch, causing Spencer to listen in on Morgan's side of the conversation.

A couple of minutes later Spencer and Morgan were watching the surveillance footage and noticed Vogel.

"Reid, he's inside. Get Elle on the phone." said Morgan.

Spencer called the number that he was given earlier before passing his work phone to Morgan and Spencer ended up listening to Morgan's side of the conversation as he thought about how much guilt Morgan dealt with in Boston.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer approached Hotch and Morgan when he heard what Hotch was saying.

"You know, Haley and I were looking at a baby names book. Guess what Gideon means in Hebrew." said Hotch.

Spencer looked at his brother in law.

"Mighty warrior. Appropriate." said Spencer before walking away causing Hotch to lightly shake his head at his brother-in-law.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later at 4:30 PM Spencer entered the house and smiled when Diana came running towards him.

"I miss you daddy." said Diana.

"I missed you too baby girl." said Spencer as he scooped up his daughter just as Clarissa exited the kitchen.

"Thanks for calling ahead because Lucy and I just put dinner in the oven." said Clarissa as she looked at her husband who was wearing the same clothes that he was wearing when he got called in.

"How much longer until dinner is done?" asked Spencer.

"A half hour, so you have enough time to take a shower." said Clarissa.

Diana looked at her daddy.

"We play?" asked Diana.

"Daddy has to take a shower first, and after dinner we can play." said Spencer.

"OK daddy." said Diana.

Clarissa looked at her daughter.

"I can play with you while daddy's taking a shower." said Clarissa.

"OK." said Diana.

Spencer passed Diana to his wife before bolting up the stairs, and a half hour later Spencer was sitting at the dining room table with Clarissa, Diana, and Lucy.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

After dinner, Spencer and Clarissa spent some time playing with Diana before they worked together on bathing and tucking their daughter into bed, and after spending some time downstairs cleaning up Diana's toys and watching the evening news, they headed up to their bedroom where they ended up having mommy and daddy time to celebrate Spencer being home after two nights away before they fell asleep.


	18. Complusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Criminal Minds

Spencer was eating breakfast with Lucy, Clarissa, and Diana when he looked at Clarissa.

"We're getting a new teammate today, and she's from the Seattle Field office." said Spencer as he took a sip of his coffee.

"I missed Aaron when he worked there for two years, and are you OK with having a new teammate even though Trevor died six months ago?" asked Clarissa as she thought about the man who tried flirting with her.

"I'm OK with getting a new teammate." said Spencer before smiling at Diana who had cleaned off her plate, "Good job, baby girl."

"More pwease." said Diana as she pointed at the plate of pancakes.

"Only because you said please." teased Spencer as he forked another pancake onto Diana's small plate and poured a little bit of maple syrup.

"Tank you daddy." said Diana.

"You're welcome, baby girl." said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"When it comes to watching you with Diana, I can't wait to see how you are with our nephew." said Clarissa.

"Did Aaron tell you about how hard I am working at trying to contain my excitement about our nephew at the office since there are times that I want to blurt out that Baby Hotchner is my nephew by marriage?" asked Spencer.

"He has." said Clarissa before Spencer looked at his watch.

"I have to get going so I can catch the train." said Spencer as he stood up and gave his two girls a kiss on either the lips or cheek before Lucy looked at the father of her young charge.

"Don't I get a kiss on the cheek?" asked Lucy.

Clarissa ended up doing a spit take with her orange juice, causing Diana to start giggling while Spencer's face heated up, and as soon as Clarissa regained her composure she looked at her husband.

"Just give the nanny a kiss on the cheek." teased Clarissa.

Spencer shook his head and gave the nanny a peck on the cheek while Clarissa used her cellphone and took a picture.

"I'm so sending this to Haley." teased Clarissa.

Spencer mocked glared at his wife.

"You are so going to get it when I get home." said Spencer before walking away while he heard Lucy talk to Clarissa.

"You and Spencer remind me so much of how my late husband and I were together." said Lucy.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Later that morning Spencer was sitting at his desk working on paperwork as he played chess against himself when Gideon came over towards his desk and moved a piece.

"Check. Checkmate in 3 moves." said Gideon before walking away.

"What..." said Spencer as he stared at his board.

"You know you'll beat him when you start learning." said Morgan.

"Learning what?" asked Spencer.

"To think outside the box." said Morgan before he started typing again before Elle joined them.

"Question for you." said Elle.

"Shoot." said Morgan.

"The footpath killer, why did he stutter?" asked Elle.

"Come on, Elle, we've all asked him, and he won't say. He wants us to figure it out." said Morgan.

"Okay. I'm up for a challenge." said Elle as she worked on unpacking her desk just as JJ came over to them.

"Good, because these go to you. Special agent Jennifer Jareau, JJ if you like." introduced JJ as she shook hands with Elle.

"Elle." said Elle.

"Greenway- highest number of solved cases in Seattle 3 years running, specialty in sex offender cases." said JJ as an impressed Elle looked at   
Spencer who was watching the interaction.

"Not bad." said Elle.

"Well, I'm the unit liaison. My specialty is untangling bureaucratic knots. You'll probably be talking to me a lot. My door's always open, mostly because I'm never in my office, so just call me on my cell, okay? We'll talk." said JJ before she met up with Hotch before Hotch looked at Spencer, Morgan, and Elle.

"BAU team, can you meet me in the conference room, please? I need to show you something." said Hotch.

A minute later Spencer was sitting next to Hotch at the round table and Hotch looked at his team.

"This is from the Phoenix office, Bradshaw College in Tempe, 6 fires in 7 months." said Hotch.

"Who recorded it?" asked Gideon.

"A student with a digital camcorder. He was watching a fire in the building across from their dorm. The other person you'll see is his roommate, 20-year-old Matthew Rowland." said JJ as she started playing the video.

Spencer watched the video with his teammates, and as soon as the video was over Hotch gave a departure time, causing Spencer to head to the bathroom where he sent Clarissa a text message on his personal phone.

I'M GOING TO TEMPE, ARIZONA SO I WON'T BE COMING HOME TONIGHT, AND I PROMISE TO STAY SAFE. PLEASE GIVE DIANA A GOODNIGHT KISS FROM ME AND TELL HER THAT I LOVE HER. I LOVE YOU AND I WILL TRY TO CALL YOU WHEN I CAN SNEAK AWAY FROM MY TEAMMATES.~ SR

A minute later Spencer got a reply.

THANKS TO LETTING ME KNOW, AND I LOVE YOU TOO. ~ CR

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was fiddling with his chess board as he looked at his teammates.

"There are 2 common stressors for a serial arsonist." said Spencer.

"Loss of job, loss of love." answered Elle.

"When was the first fire set?" asked Morgan.

"March. Uh, the next one was in May, and the third one wasn't till September, then 2 weeks later there were 3 in one night." answered Hotch so   
Morgan could highlight what he wanted for the timeline he was creating.

"He's speeding up. Fires are closer together." said Morgan.

"Hey, Reid, you got a statistic on arsonists?" asked Morgan.

Spencer moved a chess piece as he talked.

"82% are white males between 17 and 27. Female arsonists are far less likely, their motive typically being revenge." said Spencer.

"Sounds like our boy's a student." said Morgan.

Gideon looked up from the file that he was reading.

"Don't be so sure. You rely too much on precedent, you never allow for the unexpected. If he went from setting one fire to 3 in 2 weeks' time..." said Gideon.

"Rapid escalation." said Hotch.

"He's gone from the power to damage a building to something far more satisfying. The power over life and death." said Gideon.

Morgan grabbed a folder.

"Who we talking to first?" asked Morgan.

"Dean of students, Ellen Turner." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer got out of the car that he was riding in with Hotch when Gideon looked at them.

"No badges. I don't want to satisfy the unsub's need for attention by letting him know he got the FBI here. Try not to look official." said Gideon as he looked at his four teammates while thinking that Spencer could easily blend in, "Try to look less official." said Gideon before entering the building causing Spencer, Hotch, Morgan, and Elle to look at each other.

A few minutes later they were walking with Ellen Turner and the campus's fire inspector.

"Obviously, I'd rather be meeting you under different circumstances. This is fire inspector Zhang." introduced Ellen Turner.

"This morning the chemistry department reported several bottles of highly flammable chemicals missing." said Fire inspector Zhang as Hotch and Gideon opened the doors for everyone.

"I'm prepared to evacuate this campus." said Ellen as she stepped through the door, "Thank you."

"That brings with it its own problems." said Hotch.

"You might evacuate the arsonist as well." said Gideon as they continued walking.

"Then the case goes unsolved, the campus is reopened, but the fires start up again." said Elle.

"Hotch, Gideon, hold on a second." said Morgan causing everyone to stop walking, "You said the chemicals were missing today." said Morgan as he looked at the fire inspector.

Inspector Zhang nodded.

"It says here that one of the previous fires was set with diesel fuel that disappeared from the grounds keeping facility. How long after it   
disappeared was the fire set?" asked Morgan.

"One day." said Ellen.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer took down the crime scene tape before entering Matthew's dorm with Hotch.

"Door was locked." said Hotch.

"Matthew Rowland and his roommate watched as the doorknob turned against the lock." said Spencer as he crossed his arms.

"But the unsub couldn't get in." said Hotch.

"So he pours the accelerant into the room from the hallway." said Spencer.

"Which means he couldn't see the fire." said Hotch.

"But he could hear Matthew Rowland screaming." said Spencer.

"Yeah, but not for long. He would have left quickly." said Hotch as he looked at his brother in law.

"Yeah, to avoid being spotted." said Spencer.

"It doesn't make sense." said Hotch as he entered the dorm more.

"Pyromania as a mental disorder may just be a simple myth, but we do know from precedent that serial arsonists derive pleasure from pathological fire-setting." said Spencer.

"Sex and power." said Hotch.

"But a serial arsonist wouldn't just set a fire and walk away." said Spencer.

"He needs to experience it." said Hotch.

"So why would he set a fire he couldn't watch?" asked Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer stood by his teammates as inspector Zhang opened up a box revealing what was used to start the fire.

"He turned the water off just before the fire. The last 3 were set with these. 2 devices, simultaneous ignition." said inspector Zhang.

"There was no device used on Matthew Rowland. Unsub set that one manually?" asked Gideon.

"He wanted to be there to enjoy the kid's death." said Morgan.

"Not necessarily." said Hotch.

"Well, if the target was Matthew Rowland, then why set the other 2 fires?" asked Elle.

"The motives for arson are relatively simple. There's vandalism, crime concealment, political statement... Profit." listed Spencer.

"And revenge." finished Hotch.

"We interviewed Matthew Rowland's roommate. He said Matthew was very well-liked. No reason for revenge." said Zhang.

"What about vandalism?" asked Ellen.

"No. The fires are too sophisticated, and if he's trying to make a political statement, he's not being too clear about it." said Elle.

"There's an underlying strategy in this case. Matthew, firefighters, injured victims. To the unsub, they're not people. They're..." said Gideon.

"They're objects." said Hotch.

"More like." said Gideon.

"Uh... chess pieces." said Spencer.

Gideon looked at Spencer.

"Exactly." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxxxx

"The timer sets the road flare, which then lights the chemical mixture inside the canister. Simple." said Elle.

"Yet sophisticated in its simplicity. I mean, there's a meticulous construction to it." said Spencer as he looked down at the device he was holding.

"Chemical accelerant could mean chemistry student." said Elle as she thought about hearing that Spencer's less than two weeks away from turning   
24-years-old as she fiddled with a deck of cards.

"Could also mean chemistry professor." said Spencer as he thought about the job offers he received to become a chemistry professor.

"Mmm, I say student. You need self-confidence to lecture in front of a classroom full of 30 college kids. Arsonists are socially incompetent. This guy doesn't go on dates. He doesn't go to parties. He doesn't feel comfortable in front of groups." said Elle as she noticed the look that Spencer was giving her, "And, of course, he's a total psychopath."

"Course." said Spencer as he knew that he didn't fit the profile that Elle was giving since no one but Hotch and Gideon knew about his life outside the FBI.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was reading some files when his cellphone rang, and after listening to Hotch he sprinted out of the room and towards the area where he was supposed to meet his teammates with an officer, causing him to look around his surroundings.

xxxxxxxxx  
Later that evening Spencer was sitting by a bureau laptop as his teammates went through photos that Elle taken.

"We've been at this all night, and we've got nothin'. Look at these expressions. We got fear, a touch of horror, even a little bit of panic. Where's the guy getting' off?" asked Morgan.

"When asked about his motives, Peter Dinsdale said, "I am devoted to fire. Fire is my master."" quoted Spencer.

"Okay, so who was our boy's master? 10,000 plus students..." said Morgan as he lit a lighter, "And one has a serious fascination with fire."

Elle who was writing on a white board turned around.

"Fire starting is one third of the homicidal triad... An early predictor of adult disassociative criminal behavior. If we looked in his childhood, we'd probably find all three. Bed wetting... and cruelty to animals." said Elle.

"Absent or abusive father, trouble with the opposite sex, chronic low self-esteem- M.O. would be dynamic. Evolvings, fire setting escalates, they thrive on panic, fear. It's just the standard profile of a serial arsonist." said Gideon.

"Based on hundreds of interviews." said Spencer.

"Based on precedent." said Morgan.

"Everything the unsub should be, according to research." said Elle.

"We're off the mark." said Hotch.

"Because of the 2 missing elements." said Gideon.

"Sex and power- the 2 motives that drive a serial arsonist." said Morgan.

"And without 'em, we do not have a profile." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer was fiddling with some of the chemistry equipment and a light bulb when Hotch approached him.

"Reid. Since you're more their age, why don't you do the talking?" asked Hotch quietly.

Spencer looked at the chemistry students that were looking at him and Hotch.

"Ahem. Hi- hi, guys. Uh, my name's, uh, Dr. Spencer Reid. I'm a, uh, agent with the- the BAU, the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI, which, um, it used to be called the BSU, the Behavioral Science Unit, but not anymore. They changed it to the BAU. Um, it's part of the NCAVC, the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime which is also part of this thing called the CIRG, the Critical Incident Response Group, and." stuttered Spencer.

"What he's trying to say is we'd love to know how you can help us." said Hotch as he thought about what Clarissa told him about how Spencer has no problem interacting with children when he shows up at Children's National to read or put on a magic show for the kids.  
Jeremy got up from where he was sitting and made his way to Spencer.

"May I, please?" asked Jeremy.

Spencer held the light bulb out to Jeremy.

"Thank you. See this? Drill a hole in the side, fill it with gasoline or whatever's good and flammable. Turn the light on. Boom. That is what went down, didn't it?" asked Jeremy.

"The stuff's all over the net. Wanna know how to make a Molotov cocktail that sets itself on fire? Potassium, sulfur... and normal sugar. Sugar- sugar, Which is," said a girl.

"- not exactly plutonium. You could get this stuff anywhere." said Jeremy.

"Sugar from the supermarket." said the girl.

"But you don't need to be a chem major to know that." said Hotch as he thought about how Spencer helped his sister understand her chemistry homework better.

"Do you think it's a chem student?" asked inspector Zhang.

"You wanna know what I think?" asked Jeremy as he made his way towards Spencer and held the light bulb to his head, "I think... it would be a good time to take the semester off." said Jeremy as he pressed the light bulb against Spencer's chest causing Spencer to take the light bulb.

A few minutes later Spencer and Hotch with Jeremy following them, and a few minutes later Hotch was pressing a button for an elevator that wasn't working causing Jeremy to help them out.

"Hold on. You need a key to get it moving after 10:00 PM." said Jeremy as he used his key to get the elevator to start working.

"So what are you still doing here?" asked Hotch.

"I can't leave. We got projects. You know how to solve the 3 body problem?" asked Jeremy as Spencer nodded, "Computing the mutual gravitational interaction between the earth, sun and moon?"

Hotch looked at Spencer and saw him nodding.

xxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was in the conference room listening to a phone call that was received on the tip line.

""Karen. I do this for Karen."" said a modified voice.

"Play it again." said Gideon.

"The call came from the office right next to Wallace's 5 minutes before the fire was started." said Morgan.

"Play it again." repeated Gideon.

Morgan pressed play.

""Karen. I do this for Karen."" said the modified voice again.

"Again, louder." said Gideon.

Morgan turned up the volume before playing again.

""Karen. I do this for Karen."" said the modified voice.

"What is it?" asked Hotch.

"I'm not sure. Something about it." said Gideon.

"Is this tape clean?" asked Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting under a tree watching students load their belongings into vehicles when he looked at Gideon.

"What if the unsub is one of the students leaving?" asked Spencer.

"No, he's not done yet. He's not goin' anywhere. Keep thinking." said Gideon.

"You mean, out- outside the box? That's what Morgan's always telling me. He says that's why I can never beat you at chess." said Spencer as he   
thought about how he's able to beat anyone else but Gideon.

"Well, he's probably right." said Gideon.

"But, I mean, in this situation, what exactly is the box?" asked Spencer.

"The standard profile of a serial arsonist. If everything you know goes in the box, what's left?" asked Gideon.

"What you don't know. The unknown." said Spencer.

"Sometimes you have to get creative. Even if you think it's utterly unlikely, you have to think of things nobody else thought of." said Gideon.

"Like a stutter." said Spencer.

"Yeah, exactly." said Gideon before looking at Spencer, "How's Diana doing?" asked Gideon.

"She's doing great, and I can't believe that my little girl is going to be two in December." said Spencer.

"Time does go fast." said Gideon.

"I know." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer looked at Morgan as he heard Morgan said his name to Garcia as Morgan hung up.

"Hey, Reid. Garcia says it's not "Karen." It's actually something' more like- -" said Morgan as Gideon burst into the room.

"Charown." said Gideon.

"Charown?" asked Spencer.

"Charown. "I do it because of Charown."" said Gideon.

"That's Hebrew." said Spencer as he thought about how he picked up some Hebrew due to his academic adviser at Yale.

"It's God's burning anger." said Gideon.

"Yeah." said Spencer just as Hotch and Elle entered the room with lunch.

"The motive is now religious?" asked Elle.

"Well, you know, in a lot of religions, God is related to fire." said Spencer.

"Well, Brahman is fire in Hinduism, and the Jews see God as a pillar of fire, and Christians worship God as a consuming fire." said Hotch.

"Okay, so we're looking' for a theology major." said Morgan as Elle tossed Spencer a container to Spencer that he looked over, "Maybe he's punishing the other students for their sins."

"I don't want this." said Spencer as he set down the container.

"What- what's the most sinful place on campus?" asked Elle.

"Come on, Elle. When I was in college, that was everywhere." said Morgan.

"A fraternity?" asked Hotch.

"A campus bar?" asked Elle.

"No, 'cause that's not consistent with the previous targets." said Hotch.

"What about the idea of baptism by fire? Aren't we all supposed to be tested through fire in revelations?" asked Morgan.

Gideon stopped writing so he could look at Spencer, Hotch, Morgan, and Elle.

"Look, it's good, it's good, but let's please do not jump to conclusions. Religion might be a part of it, but it's not necessarily the prime   
compulsion." said Gideon.

"Gideon, rush to conclusions, jump to conclusions." said Morgan.

"Who cares? We are running out of time." said Elle.

Spencer's mind started to race.

"Compulsion." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting in the conference room alone rewatching the video that they saw during briefing, and after thinking for a bit he ended up replaying a certain part of the video before getting up and walked over to the clear board.

"Outside the box." said Spencer before he erased the clear board, wrote fire on it and drew a circle just as Gideon came into the room and checked on him.

"Keep thinking'. It's like chess. Don't look at just the next move. Try to look 3 moves ahead." said Gideon before leaving Spencer alone again causing Spencer to rush towards the laptop and replayed the video before noticing that their unsub was turning the doorknob three times.

"3 times." said Spencer causing him to rush around campus to see if the locations of the fires had to deal with threes before noticing a schedule that dealt with the murdered student, ""Professor Wallace. Tuesday, 3:00."" said Spencer to himself before rushing to find Hotch and Gideon.

A few minutes later Spencer entered the room that Hotch and Gideon were in.

"I know why the profiles never fit. You were right to tell Morgan not to rely on precedent. The fires thus far have been completely task oriented." said Spencer.

"So once they're set, the unsub is done?" asked Hotch as he looked at the agent who was almost done with his probationary period.

"Exactly. The unsub is not a classical serial arsonist. He's someone who uses fire because of a completely different disorder." said Spencer excitedly.

"Which is?" asked Hotch.

"An extreme manifestation of OCD, obsessive compulsive disorder. He does everything in 3's, and if I'm right, he'll have to kill again." said Spencer before sitting down, "There's a form of OCD called scrupulosity."

"Religious obsession and compulsion." said Hotch.

"An obsessive fear of committing sin, which creates so much anxiety that he's compelled to do something to ease that anxiety." said Spencer.

"Like setting fires." said Hotch.

"Where's the behavioral evidence?" asked Gideon.

"Right here." said Spencer as he pressed a key on the laptop, "All right. Remember the night of the 3 fires? We saw the doorknob turning against the lock."

Hotch and Gideon noticed the doorknob turning three times.

"But he's not trying to get in. He's compelled to turn the doorknob 3 times." said Spencer.

"Well, what about the fires? The first ones were single fires. If the unsub was OCD, shouldn't they have all been in 3's?" asked Gideon.

"They were in 3's. A trinity of 3's. The first fire occurred on March third." said Spencer.

Gideon instantly understood what Spencer was talking about.

"3:00 PM, third day, third month." said Gideon.

"It's that convergence of 3's that causes the overwhelming anxiety. Obsessive compulsives ease the anxiety by performing the compulsion." said Spencer.

"What about the other fires? Professor Wallace?" asked Hotch.

"Office number 3. I checked for more patterns of 3's. His class was on Tuesdays." said Spencer.

"Third day of the week." said Hotch.

"Matthew Rowland was in that class. It was his third class of the day. If we looked into each of the fires we'd find a lot of patterns having to do with   
3's because our minds are incredibly adept at seeking out patterns. But to the unsub, once that pattern hits, bam-," said Spencer as he snapped his fingers, "he sets a fire." said Spencer as Hotch got up to pace.

"But if the target was always people, why did no one die in the first few fires?" asked Gideon.

"They were failures. Up until Matthew Rowland." said Spencer.

Gideon looked at Hotch.

"What is it?" asked Gideon.

"I think I know who it might be. And it's not a he. It's a she." said Hotch as he gave a name allowing Gideon to call Ellen before Hotch looked at Spencer and Gideon, "When I was talking to her and her classmates, I noticed something- a ring on her finger. And she kept turning it."

"At intervals?" asked Spencer.

"Of 3. And she counted off the ingredients of a light bulb bomb." said Hotch.

Spencer instantly remembered.

"And the word "sugar."" said Spencer.

"Yeah. And she kept repeating it. Once she started, she couldn't stop." said Hotch.

"Yeah, it's palillia. It's the involuntary repetition of words. Howard Hughes had it when his OCD worsened." said Spencer.

"Clara and her classmates were working on a project about gravitational pull." said Hotch.

"The 3 body problem." said Gideon.

A couple of minutes later Spencer got a phone call, causing him to explain who Moloch was.

"Moloch was the demon sun god of the Canaanites. In order to keep from incurring his wrath, the people would sacrifice their children to him by burning them alive." said Spencer causing him to think about Diana as Hotch grabbed what he printed off.

"16-year-old survives inferno. The mother, Ellen Hayes called it a miracle. "My daughter was tested by God. He tested my child and she came through blessed." Look at the house number."

Gideon looked at the paper.

"333." said Gideon.

A few minutes later Ellen was sitting with them.

"Security's checking the science building." said Ellen.

"Well, where else would she be?" asked Gideon.

"We need to find the next pattern of 3's." said Spencer as Hotch received a phone call from Morgan, causing Spencer and Gideon to listen to Hotch's side of the conversation.

"Morgan, seal the building, get everybody out of there and walk away." said Hotch.

"We need to send our people into every building and have them start pulling fire alarms. Please, go." said Gideon causing people to get up, "Need a map of the campus. We need to find anything and everything having to do with the number 3. Where's the blueprint?" asked Gideon as Spencer to up and got to business.

A couple of minutes later Hotch looked at Gideon.

"Jason, wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait. Clara Hayes is very likely a good person. Someone who never wanted to do anyone any harm, like any other rational person. But there's nothing rational about obsessive compulsive disorder." said Hotch as Spencer nodded along.

"Research suggests OCD involves problems in communication between the frontal of the brain and the orbital cortex. Plus deeper structures. The basal ganglia." said Spencer.

"You can't reason with her because you can't reason with a physiological problem. She's not setting these fires because she wants to, but because she has to." said Hotch.

"What are you trying to say?" asked Gideon.

"Don't try to convince her to stop, because you won't be able to." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

While Hotch and Gideon assisted in the search for Clara, Spencer was looking into Clara's records.

"I'm still looking." said Spencer.

"Focus on the girl." said Gideon.

"She's failing out. This was gonna be her last semester." said Spencer.

"That's the stressor. What else?" asked Gideon.

"She was a researcher in the science building." said Spencer.

"We know that. They've already cleared the science building." said Gideon.

Spencer noticed something causing him to stand up.

"The third floor of the science building is under construction." said Spencer.

"I'm on my way." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxxxx

During the flight home, Spencer was playing chess with Gideon and with the game almost being over

"Check in 3." said Spencer.

"Not bad." said Gideon as he pictured the next move before moving a piece, "Checkmate."

Spencer looked at Gideon in shock.

"Don't worry, you're getting there." said Gideon as he started to reset the board.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day Spencer was signing off his paperwork when Elle looked at him.

"What's with those pictures on your desk?" asked Elle as she pointed at an aged picture and a picture from when he was 17 years old.

Spencer picked up the aged photo.

"This was the last picture that was taken of my biological parents and I together." said Spencer as he looked at his four year old self.

"How old were you when they died?" asked Elle as she looked at the picture and noticed that Spencer had curly hair and big glasses.

"I was four, and my mom's older brother and his wife ended up adopting me." said Spencer as he ended up showing Elle the picture of him when he was 17 years old with his aunt and uncle.

Elle studied the picture closely and noticed a teenaged Spencer wearing a doctoral gown standing between a curly blonde hair and blued eye man who was wearing a police badge and a red haired woman with green eyes.

"Your uncle is a police officer?" asked Elle.

"He was a police officer." corrected Spencer.

"He died in the line duty?" asked Elle.

"When I was 19 years old, he and aunt Ethel were driving back from New York City when a sibling of a suspect that my uncle did a kill shot on wanted to get revenge on him by killing my aunt and uncle while driving drunk." said Spencer.

"Their deaths led you to go down the FBI route?" asked Elle.

"Over two and a half months before they died, I was approached by the CIA for the third time, and uncle Gordon who has been doing his best to protect me when it came to being hounded by recruiters from various government agencies heard that Gideon was going to give a lecture at Yale. He encouraged me to go to the lecture since he thought that the FBI would be a good career for me." said Spencer before smiling a bit, "I attended the lecture and asked Gideon some interesting questions before I snuck away, and a couple of months later I finally had a chance to meet him, causing me to be in regular contact with him while I spent the next two and a half years working on the degrees that I wanted to earn before I got into the academy when I was 21 and a half years old."

"I think its good that you didn't let the deaths of your aunt and uncle stop you from following your dreams." said Elle.

"I know that they would be proud of me, and one thing I'm glad about was that my uncle had taught me how to defend myself and how to shoot a gun before his death because he was one of the best sharp shooters in Nevada and eventually Connecticut." said Spencer.

"How good of a shot are you?" asked Elle.

"Despite never having to shoot an unsub in the field, I'm a fairly decent shot, but during my last re-qualification I barely passed it." said Spencer.

"Maybe I could help you a bit." said Elle.

"Hotch was already planning on helping me since my re-qualification is next month, but it will be nice to go to the shooting range with someone I haven't gone with yet." said Spencer as he looked at his watch and his completed stack of paperwork, "I'm going to go hand in my paperwork since I have to get going."

"You have a date Reid?" asked Morgan.

"I'm meeting with my godparents for dinner since my since my godfather is back in the country and my godmother is hoping that I would guest lecture for her again." said Spencer.

"Guest lecturing after what happened in Arizona?" asked Elle.

"My godmother is a forensics linguistics professor at Georgetown University when she's not working at the Hoover Building." said Spencer.

"Your godmother is an FBI agent?" asked Elle.

"My godmother is SSA Dr. Alex Blake, and she was my mother's best friend in college so being placed in this unit gives me the opportunity to see my godmother outside of cases." said Spencer as he grabbed his completed files and headed up to Hotch's office and a couple of minutes later he was leaving the bullpen.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Three hours later Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, and Lucy were eating dinner with Alex and James Blake while Spencer talked to his godmother about the upcoming guest lecture that she wanted him to give.


	19. Spencer Turns 24 & Plain Sight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With having Spencer's birthday happening on October 9th and October 9th happening on a Sunday in 2005, let's just say that there's an office party the day after Spencer's birthday.

Spencer woke up to kisses from 21 month old Diana, and as soon as he had his glasses on, he smiled at his baby girl.

"Happy birfday daddy." said Diana.

"Thank you, baby girl." said Spencer as he hugged his daughter just as Clarissa brought breakfast into the room.

"As soon as we eat breakfast, we're off to church." said Clarissa.

"Do we have to go?" asked Spencer as he looked at his 23 year old wife.

"We should go, and after your birthday dinner at my brother's house I will have a special birthday present waiting for you." said Clarissa as she joined her husband and daughter in bed.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Later that evening, Spencer was blushing when Hotch, Haley, Clarissa, and Gideon sang "Happy Birthday" to Spencer as Diana sat on her daddy's lap, and after Spencer blew out the candles, Diana looked at her daddy.

"Can I pwease have cake now daddy?" asked Diana as she took in the sight of the chocolate cake that her mommy and auntie Haley made together.

"Yes baby girl, and this December there will be a birthday cake for you when you turn two." said Spencer as he tickled the 21 month old toddler's belly, causing Diana to squeal with laughter when Haley looked at her husband who was smiling at the antics of his brother in law and niece who were both smiling and laughing.

"That will be you in a couple of weeks." said Haley as she rubbed her 33 week pregnant belly.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

An hour and a half later Spencer and Clarissa were undressing each other before they started passionately making out in bed.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day Spencer groaned when he saw JJ, Morgan, and Elle set up the office birthday party for him at his desk and after the entire office singing "Happy Birthday" to him he was trying to blow out the candles of his birthday cake.

"Make a wish!" said Elle.

Spencer attempted to blow out the candles and when they refused to blow out, Morgan looked at him.

"Come on man! Blow, baby blow!" laughed Morgan as he thought about how good his prank is working.

"I thought you were full of hot air, Reid." laughed Elle.

"Come on, Reid." said Morgan.

JJ decided to give the man who she has developed a crush on some help even though Spencer never returned the crush.

"They're trick candles, Spence, okay? They gonna come back on every time." said JJ.

Morgan leaned over Spencer's shoulder.

"Oh, mommy to the rescue!" said a teasing Morgan as he playfully moved Spencer's hat.

"Mommy?" asked Spencer before looking at the last picture of him with his mom before glaring at Morgan who looked at the photo that Spencer was looking at before feeling guilty.

"Sorry kid." said Morgan.

A smiling Hotch who was standing with Gideon looked at his brother in law before looking at Gideon.

"Is it amazing he knows what he knows and he's only 24?" asked Hotch as he thought about how fond of he became of the man who married his baby sister.

"Reid, does this make you legal yet?" asked Morgan.

"Imagine what he'll know by 50." said Gideon as he thought about how Spencer could be a grandfather by then.

Spencer kept his eyes forward as Elle and JJ removed the candles from his birthday cake.

"Hope you like chocolate." said Elle as a phone rang, causing Anderson to address Hotch.

"Agent Hotchner?" asked Anderson.

"You blew wax onto the cake, man." said Morgan.

Hotch headed towards Anderson as Spencer took the opportunity to approach Gideon.

"You having fun?" asked Gideon as he thought about the birthday dinner he attended at the Hotchners the evening before.

"Yes, definitely. I'm definitely having fun." said Spencer sarcastically.

"Make a wish?" asked Gideon.

Spencer raised his eyes to his hat.

"Can I take this hat off?" asked Spencer.

"I wouldn't." said Gideon.

"Hey Spence, first piece for the birthday boy." said JJ as she smiled at Spencer.

Spencer looked at Gideon.

"Do you know she's the second person in the whole world who calls me "Spence" and become a big sister to me?" asked Spencer quietly.

"I know." said Gideon.

"Spence get over here." ordered JJ.

A few seconds later Spencer was taking his piece of cake from JJ.

"Thank you." said Spencer as he started eating his cake while thinking about how he preferred the cakes that his aunt Ethel made for him.

"Birthday boy." said Morgan.

A minute later Hotch looked at his teammates before landing his eyes on his brother in law.

"Sorry, guys, the party's over." said Hotch as he told his teammates to take a few minutes to finish up their pieces of cake.

10 minutes later Spencer was in the conference room with his teammates when Hotch and JJ entered the room.

"We're going to San Diego." said Hotch.

"Not for the surfing, huh?" asked Morgan.

"They're calling him the Tommy killer." said JJ as she passed files around.

"6 women raped and murdered in their homes in the last 3 weeks." said Hotch

"6 in 3 weeks?" asked Elle.

"That's a short fuse." said Gideon.

"And getting shorter. The first 2 were 8 days apart, then the next 4 in 2 weeks." said Hotch.

"Rapid escalation. Do you think he's regressing to a psychopathic frenzy?" asked Spencer.

"No, he's too controlled for that. See you on the plane." said Hotch before getting up to walk out of the room.

"Why the Tommy killer?" asked Morgan.

Hotch stopped walking and turned around.

"You know the rock opera? This unsub glues his victims' eyes wide open." said Hotch before leaving the room.

Spencer looked at the crime scene photo.

"He wants them to see him." said Spencer.

"And feel him." said Gideon.

A few minutes later Spencer was in the men's room sending Clarissa a text message.

I'M GOING HOME RIGHT NOW SINCE I'M LEAVING FOR SAN DIEGO TOMORROW MORNING, SO I HAVE THIS EVENING TO SPEND WITH YOU AND DIANA BEFORE MEETING ON THE AIR STRIP. ~ SR

xxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was on the jet with his teammates.

"Brenda Samms was found yesterday by her children when they got home from school. She had been strangled with a thin ligature, possibly a   
wire." said Hotch.

"No weapon left at the scene." said Elle.

"Residue on the wrists and mouth indicate that duct tape was used and then removed." said Spencer.

"Also not found at the scene." said Hotch.

"Brought it with him, took it with him." said Elle.

"He also started leaving messages at the fourth scene. This was on the mirrors. "Fair lady, throw those costly robes aside. No longer may you glory   
in your pride. Take leave of all your carnal, vain delight."" said Hotch as Spencer recognized the ballad from one of his mother's books.

""I've come to summon you away this night."" finished Spencer before looking at his teammates, "It's a ballad from the late 1600s. A dialogue betwixt death and a lady." said Spencer as Morgan put his arms out while Gideon smiled.

"A 17th century ballad?" asked Elle

"Essentially, a woman begging death to live." said Spencer as Morgan shook his head.

"What kind of person knows this ballad? Are we looking for a literature professor?" asked Elle as she thought about Spencer telling her that his mom was a 15th century medieval literature professor until she died.

"Anyone with an internet connection, actually." said Spencer before laughing a bit, "You should see what comes in when you type the word "death" into a search engine." said Spencer as he thought about how he once did it in front of Clarissa.

"Reid, no wonder you can't get a date." said Morgan.

Spencer inwardly smirked as he thought about how wrong Morgan was while showing a hurt face.

"Reid, you stay on the messages. See if there's a deeper meaning." said Gideon.

"It definitely looks like he ransacked the crime scene pretty well." said Morgan as he showed a picture.

"A lot of damage, nothing taken." said Hotch.

"The eyes are the thing, the signature. The behavior that isn't necessary for the murder, but necessary for the emotional release. That's what he's   
there for." said Gideon as he continued to sketch eyes.

"There used to be a widely held belief that the eyes record a snapshot of the last thing a person sees before they die." said Spencer.

"Yeah, that's right. People used to write poems about talking to death." said Morgan.

"Ballads." corrected Spencer.

"Whatever." sighed Morgan.

"You think they'll ever run out of new things to do to their victims?" asked Elle.

"Well, finding new ways to hurt each other is what we're good at." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer headed into the police station's bullpen with his teammates and headed straight to the evidence board that contained the ballads with his bags while Hotch and JJ addressed Captain Griffith and 10 minutes later he was reading aloud as JJ approached him.

""My name is death. Have you not heard of me? You may as well be mute..."" read Spencer.

"Creepy, huh?" asked JJ.

"Actually, conversations between death and his victims was a fairly popular literary and artistic theme throughout the renaissance." said Spencer   
before looking at JJ, "Yeah, creepy."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer approached Elle when he heard her talk to Hotch.

"I'm on it." said Elle.

"It looks like what he's written at the scenes are most of the first 3 verses of the same ballad." said Spencer.

"Most of?" asked Hotch.

"It's only one part of the conversation. There's no "betwixt"." said Spencer as he smiled a bit before getting looks from Hotch and Elle, "Death speaks, but the lady never answers."

"Maybe he feels like their bodies are answer enough." said Elle.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer approached Gideon who arrived back at the station with Morgan.

"The verses." said Spencer.

"Found something?" asked Gideon.

"Not an answer, a question. I found the full text. He's pretty much following it to a T, at least the death side of the conversation." said Spencer.

"But?" asked Gideon.

"Why didn't he leave them at the first 3 murders? I mean, this ballad is 10 verses long just on the death side. He's got plenty to work with. But if it's not part of his signature, it isn't something that he has to do for an emotional reason then, I mean, why start?" asked Spencer.

Gideon turned towards JJ who was sitting at a desk.

"JJ, find out when the press ran the first story on this unsub." said Gideon.

"When?" asked JJ.

"After which victim." said Gideon.

"Yeah, you got it." said JJ as she picked up the phone.

"What are you thinking?" asked Morgan.

"He wasn't getting enough attention." said Gideon.

"The police department sometimes don't even realize they're looking at a pattern." said Spencer.

"Yeah, until somebody tells 'em." said Morgan.

JJ looked at them.

"The first story ran the morning after the fourth victim was found." said JJ.

Morgan looked at a file.

"The increased patrols didn't begin until after the fourth victim, either." said Morgan.

"Yeah, the police didn't realize what was happening he writes his verse, and-" said Gideon.

"And everyone knows that he was there." said Spencer as Hotch and Elle approached them.

"The offender in this new attempt is a black male." said Hotch.

"Black male? That's cross racial. That doesn't happen." said Morgan.

"What about Herbert Mullin? He killed 14 different people of completely varying ages, races, and creeds." said Spencer.

"But there was no sexual component to his crimes. And he wore a ski mask. This attacker wore a ski mask." said Elle.

"Tell 'em we're ready." said Gideon.

"For a profile?" asked Morgan.

"We're gonna make Tommy contact us." said Gideon before walking away.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"The unsub brought the weapons with him. Tape, glue, wire. He did not leave them at the scene. He took them when he left. He has a kind of killing kit that he carries." said Gideon.

"Organized killers usually have a skilled job, likely technology related which may involve the use of the hands. The crime scenes are far enough apart that he needs a vehicle. This will be well kept, obsessively clean, as will be his home. He's diurnal, the attacks occurred during the day so the vehicle may be related to his work, possibly a company car or truck." said Hotch.

"We believe he watches the victims for a time, learns the rhythms of the home, knows his time frame." said Morgan.

"You're not gonna catch him accidentally." said Hotch.

"He destroys symbols of wealth in the victim's homes. He harbors envy of and hatred toward people of a higher social class. He feels invisible around them." said Gideon.

"Class is the theme of the poem which he left at the various crime scenes. At one point in the poem, the women attempts to bribe death but he doesn't accept it. He says this is the one moment when riches mean nothing. When death comes, the poor and the rich are exactly alike." said Spencer as Elle joined them in the room.

"So he's poor." said Captain Griffith.

"Probably middle-class. A decidedly lower-class person would stick out in a highly patrolled neighborhood. This guy appears to belong there. He blends in." said Hotch.

"Why does he glue the eyes open?" asked Detective Martin.

"The unsub is an exploitative rapist. Most rape victims close their eyes during the attack, turn their heads. For some rapists, this ruins the fantasy. For this type of rapist, the goal is more related to the victim watching him than the act itself." said Elle.

"The verses, the staging, the aggressive language, "I am death, " this is a guy who, while being in control of the crime scene almost certainly feels inadequate in the rest of his life." said Hotch.

"That's why he couldn't wait for you to figure out what he'd done. Why he needed to make sure all his crimes were counted. His victims, they represent whatever it is that's controlling him and he wants that control back. He is under the thumb of a powerful woman who frightens him. And   
a final point. He is white." said Gideon.

"We have witnesses that identify him as a black male." said Captain Griffith.

"The attacker was black. He is not the Tommy killer." said Gideon.

"Mrs. Gordon's husband came home at the same time that he always does. The Tommy killer would've known that." said Hotch.

"And Mrs. Gordon's attacker wore a ski mask. The unsub knows when he walks into a house he's going to kill the woman who lives there. If you're not leaving any witnesses, why wear a ski mask?" asked Elle.

"And he wants the victim to see him anyway." said Morgan.

"Your attempted rapist is a garden variety disorganized young man." said Hotch.

"As the victim's age goes up, generally the attacker's age goes down. Mrs. Gordon is about 60, which puts her rapist at about 20." said Elle.

"And it takes years to develop the level of calm and sophistication that Tommy displays at a crime scene. The rapist is far too young for that." said Gideon.

"Mrs. Gordon told me that there's a young man who delivers groceries to their home. He fits a lot of what we're describing here." said Elle.

"Great. So we're back to zero on Tommy." said Captain Griffith.

"Not at all. May I see you in your office for a moment?" asked Hotch.

Captain Griffith followed Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was fiddling with a Rubik cube that Diana snuck into his messenger bag as he sat at a desk with Elle.

"God, I hate waiting like this." said Elle.

"Do you think it's weird that I knew that ballad?" asked Spencer.

"I don't know how it is that you know half the things you know, but I'm glad you do." said Elle.

"Morgan's comment on the plane hurt." whispered Spencer.

Elle quickly thought about Morgan's comment about Spencer never getting a date as she looked at Spencer.

"Have you ever ask anyone out?" asked Elle.

Spencer looked around before inching closer to Elle.

"I have no reason to ask anyone out." whispered Spencer as he reached into his shirt and pulled out the chain that was around his neck, causing a wide eyed Elle to see a gold wedding band before he slipped it back into his shirt and grabbed a note and picture from his messenger bag and passed it to Elle who silently read it.

I'VE BEEN MARRIED TO MY COLLEGE SWEETHEART SINCE NOVEMBER 30TH OF 2002. MY WIFE AND I GAVE BIRTH TO OUR DAUGHTER, DIANA ETHEL REID ON DECEMBER 21ST OF 2003. THE REASON WHY I HAVEN'T BROUGHT UP THAT I'M MARRIED AND A FATHER IS BECAUSE I'M FORBIDDEN TO BRING UP MY RELATIONSHIP STATUS BECAUSE I'M MARRIED TO HOTCH'S LITTLE SISTER. HOTCH, GIDEON, AND CHIEF STRAUSS THINK THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE WOULD THINK THAT I GOT INTO THE BAU BY NEPOTISM, WHICH I DIDN'T SINCE I WORKED HARD IN COLLEGE AND IN THE ACADEMY TO GET WHERE I AM TODAY. SO PLEASE KEEP THIS INFORMATION A SECRET.

Elle looked at the note and at the picture of Clarissa and Diana together, causing her to see that Clarissa had Hotch's hair color while noting that Diana had her father's curly brown hair and her mother's blue eyes.

"Your secret is safe with me." whispered Elle as she handed the note and picture back.

Spencer slipped the note and picture back into his messenger bag just as the phone rang and Detective Martin answered it.

"Detective Martin. Hey. Hey." said Detective Martin.

"Line 6, Penelope. Line 6." said JJ.

"Stupid, incompetent sons of bitches! I don't make mistakes! I am death! You hear me?! I am death! You'll see now. Tomorrow, mark my words, you will see. And while I'm taking her, I'm gonna be thinking of you." said an angry voice over the phone.

"Anything?" asked JJ and listened to Garcia before addressing her teammates, "She said she got nothing."

"Nothing?" said Morgan.

"We missed him?" asked Hotch as he saw how dejected his team became.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hours later Spencer was wearing his FBI windbreaker to ward off the morning fall chill as Captain Griffith approached them.

"We have an undercover car for each of your teams and the entire damn department out there, too." said Captain Griffith.

"Remember, a truck. Maybe a work truck in excellent condition." said Gideon.

"Everyone knows." said Captain Griffith.

"All right, he might make a mistake today. He's angry, and he probably hasn't done the kind of surveillance he'd like." said Hotch.

"Yeah, well, neither have we." said Morgan before looking at his partner for the operation and slapped him on the back, "Let's go, Reid." said   
Morgan before walking away, causing Spencer to follow him.

Elle looked at Gideon.

"I'll bring the car around." said Elle.

Gideon handed Elle the keys.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer sat patiently in the front passenger seat of the car that he and Morgan were using when Morgan looked at his watch.

"It's 10:30 already." said Morgan as he thought about how patient Spencer was being.

"All he said was tomorrow. He didn't... Specify morning." said Spencer.

"Reid, this guy's gotta spend a lot of time in that house. A lot. He needs it to be morning." said Morgan as Spencer looked behind him before looking at Morgan.

"Are we sure this is a good spot?" asked Spencer as he thought about how he and Clarissa would argue when it came to watching meteor showers.

"3 of the victims lived within a block of this street. It's the main artery through the neighborhood." said Morgan.

"True, but 3 victims in the same block could mean he's done with the area." said Spencer.

"Or that he's just really familiar with it." said Morgan.

"And comfortable in it." said Spencer.

"But then, on the other hand the other victims lived more than a mile in either direction." said Morgan.

"Right." said Spencer.

Morgan hit the steering wheel.

"God, I hate not having a plan. We're looking for a needle in a haystack here." said Morgan.

"Actually, it's more like we're looking for a needle in a pile of needles." said Spencer.

"What?" asked Morgan as he looked at Spencer in shock.

"A needle would stand out in a haystack." said Spencer.

Morgan chuckled.

"OK. And we're not looking for someone who stands out?" asked Morgan.

"No. We're looking for a particular needle in a pile of needles." said Spencer as he grabbed his binoculars and put them to his face as Morgan stared at him before shaking his head.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer ran into a telephone company with Morgan.

"FBI. I need to know where one of your technicians is." said Morgan as he showed his badge.

"FBI?" asked Jordan.

"Where are your technicians?" asked Spencer.

"They're all out in the field." said Jordan.

Morgan slammed on the counter.

"Listen! I need Franklin Graney right now." ordered Morgan.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later that evening Spencer was flying back to Virginia with his teammates when Gideon paused his chess game with Spencer and grabbed a small box from his bags.

"Oh, I almost forgot. I have something for you." said Gideon.

"Oh, yeah?" asked Spencer.

"Forgot to give it to you at the party." said Gideon as he passed Spencer a wrapped gift box.

"But you don't give birthday presents." said Spencer as he unwrapped the box and smiled when he saw the gift certificate for the portrait studio that he and Clarissa take Diana to for portraits and smiled at the note.

I LOOKED AT THE PHOTOS ON THE WALL AT YOUR HOUSE, YOU AND CLARISSA ARE DUE FOR A FAMILY PORTRAIT WITH DIANA. THE PACKAGE IS ALREADY PAID FOR.

Spencer smiled at Gideon.

"Thank you so much." smiled Spencer before looking at the chess board and moved a chess piece, "Checkmate."

Gideon looked at Spencer in shock before Spencer handed Gideon a note that he wrote earlier.

ELLE KNOWS THAT I'M MARRIED AND A FATHER SINCE I ENDED UP TELLING HER THAT I WAS A BIT PEEVED AT MORGAN'S COMMENT ABOUT ME NOT BEING ABLE TO GET A DATE ON THE PLANE AND SHE'S WILLING TO KEEP MY SECRET LIFE A SECRET.

"Good to know." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer was packing up his desk when Hotch was coming down the stairs.

"Need a ride, Reid?" asked Hotch.

"A ride would be great." said Spencer.

As soon as they were on the highway, Spencer looked at Hotch.

"Just so you know, I ended up confessing to Elle that I'm married to your sister and that I'm a dad since we ended up having a conversation about me dating due to Morgan's comment on the plane and she's willing to keep my marital status and Diana a secret." said Spencer.

"Good to know." said Hotch.

"Excited about Jack's upcoming birth?" asked Spencer.

"I'm excited and nervous, but other than helping take care of Sean and Clarissa when they were babies, Diana has helped me get a better understanding on how to take care of a baby." said Hotch.

"I just can't believe that Diana's going to be two in December." said Spencer.

"I know, but when it comes to this job it helps to have a family to go home to." said Hotch.

"Clarissa once told me that a couple of months before she approached me, she saw me on campus a couple of times and was afraid to approach me." said Spencer.

"I didn't even know that." said Hotch.

"She didn't know what to say." said Spencer.

"Finding you on that bench gave her something to say." said Hotch.

"I just can't believe that next month will be the five year anniversary of aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon's deaths, the five year anniversary of meeting Clarissa, and the three year anniversary of marrying her." said Spencer.

"Me neither, but what I have told you before, I'm glad that it was you that fell in love with my baby sister." said Hotch as he notice Spencer pull something out of his satchel, "What's that?"

"Gideon got me a gift certificate for Clarissa's and my favorite portrait studio since he mentioned that Clarissa, Diana, and I are due for some new family portraits to display at home." said Spencer.

"I actually agree." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxxx  
A couple of days later Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana were sitting on fallen leaves at Rock Creek Park smiling as a photographer took a picture of the Reid family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I hope that Gideon's birthday gift for Spencer was a good idea instead of Redskins tickets since Spencer wouldn't cheat on Clarissa.


	20. Broken Mirror

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts two hours after chapter 19 since Haley's now on bed rest.  
> This chapter deals with the episode Broken Mirror, and I am not going to include one of the phone call scenes because of what I have planned for this chapter.

Spencer and Clarissa entered Haley's hospital room with Diana on Spencer's hip, and Haley smiled when she saw her niece.

"Hi there Diana." said Haley.

"Hi." said Diana.

"How are you doing?" asked Clarissa as she looked at the monitors that Haley was hooked up to.

"I'm upset about being on bed rest, but I know that I have to listen to my doctor if I want my son to be born healthy." said Haley.

"At least you only have six more weeks to go, Haley." said Clarissa.

Spencer reached into his messenger bag and placed a stack of books on Haley's bedside table.

"You were talking about reading some of the books on my shelves, so consider borrowing these ones." said Spencer.

"Thank you, Spencer." said Haley.

"You're welcome, and as soon as Jack's old enough for you and Aaron to go out for a child free evening we will be glad to babysit since you and Aaron babysat for us countless of times." said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Morgan looked at Spencer, who was carrying a boatload of files in his arms.

"Are you ever going to reveal about what Gideon gave you for your birthday?" asked Morgan.

"He got me tickets for an exhibit that I wanted to see at the Smithsonian." lied Spencer.

"I overheard JJ telling Garcia that she has a crush on you, and you refuse to return her crush." said Morgan.

"I know that she has a crush on me, but I love JJ as a sister that I always wanted." said Spencer.

"Have you ever told her that?" asked Morgan.

"No." said Spencer just as Agent Rush approached them.

"Derek, hey. I put the transcript from the last prison interview on your desk." said Agent Rush.

"OK. It wasn't classified, Rush. You could have sent it inter office." said Morgan.

"I could have." said Agent Rush before walking off before two aides walked past and looked at Morgan, causing Spencer to look at Morgan who rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Must be tough, man." smiled Spencer.

"Not really." chuckled Morgan.

"What do you mean? You don't do anything and these women are throwing themselves at you." said Spencer as he thought about how Clarissa just approached him and started talking to him when they met.

"Strictly off-limits, Reid." said Morgan as they walked into the bullpen.

"There's no code of conduct that says agents can't socialize." said Spencer as he thought about how he and Hotch are allowed to be on the same team despite him being married to Hotch's little sister.

Morgan rested a hand on his shoulder as they walked towards their desks.

"Well, see my code of survival says never mess with a woman who carries a gun." said Morgan before shoving Spencer slightly, causing Elle to catch him before he fell as she walked towards Hotch's office.

"You already know that my uncle once told me the same thing." said Spencer as he set the files on his desk.

A few minutes later Hotch was out of his office, and he looked at Spencer and Morgan.

"Reid, Morgan, document's up on the screen regarding the kidnapping of Trish Davenport." said Hotch.

Spencer set down what he was looking at on his desk as he started heading towards the conference room.

"Have you read them yet?" asked Spencer as he thought about heading to the state that he lived in for over seven years.

"Yeah, I got a copy from the document examiner." said Hotch as Spencer bounced up the stairs.

"What's it say?" asked Morgan.

"That we've got until 8:00 tonight." said Hotch.

A minute later Spencer was reading what was on the monitor.

""You will follow instructions carefully. You will do this to ensure the safety of your daughter. You will wait for the call. You will answer the call at 8:00 PM. You will write down the instructions and follow them to the letter."" read Spencer as he thought about how safe Diana is with Lucy who keeps up with her re-qualification to carry a gun and self defense.

"That gives us less than 9 hours to get to Connecticut, work up victimology on Trish Davenport, and prepare her father for the ransom drop." said   
Hotch as Gideon looked at his watch.

"How do we know the letter's real?" asked Gideon.

Hotch clicked the remote to show the analysis that was made.

"The handwriting is a match for Trish's. He dictated it to her, and they found saline on the paper." said Hotch as he zoomed in a bit on the picture of the letter.

"Her tears." said Gideon.

"He never says "I." He doesn't say "I will call." He says, "You will answer the call." He's distancing himself from the kidnapping. If he said "I", he'd be   
taking responsibility for it." said Morgan.

"There's also another missing element." said Hotch.

"No mention of the police. Ransom notes almost always forbid police involvement." said Elle.

"So is he expecting law enforcement to get involved?" asked Hotch.

"Well, if he's expecting us, let's not disappoint him." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxxxxx

"Everyone familiar with the father?" asked Hotch.

"Evan Davenport, U. S. Attorney, executive assistant southern district, New York. Widower assigned US Marshals 3 times in the past 10 years due to death threats." said Spencer as he thought about how one of the family members of a suspect was able to get revenge on his uncle.

"Is the protective detail still current?" asked Morgan.

"Around the clock, but Trish declined protection when she turned 18." said Hotch as he thought about how Spencer and Clarissa were lucky to find a nanny who's a retired FBI agent to take care of his niece when Clarissa's at work and Spencer's traveling with him.

"Too bad for the boyfriend." said Morgan.

"But why kill him?" asked Spencer as he thought about the plans he made for Diana's future boyfriends.

"Well, if I'm gonna kidnap someone I know I have to take out whoever's with them." said Morgan before sighing, "It says here she's got a sister."

"Cheryl." said Hotch as he thought about Clarissa and how she is closer to him than to Sean.

"Any problems? Were they close?" asked Morgan.

Spencer looked at Morgan.

"Yeah. They're identical twins." said Spencer before showing Morgan a picture.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"You OK with going home to Connecticut?" asked Morgan.

"Even though the five year anniversary of aunt Ethel's and uncle Gordon's deaths is six weeks away, I'm OK with going to Connecticut because of having happy memories from living there since the summer of 1994 to May of 2001." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer entered the Davenport home with his teammates, and Mr. Davenport looked at Hotch and Gideon.

"Please, come in. I have 6 people on my staff. I have 3 bodyguards. They've all had polygraphs. Everybody's been vetted." said Mr. Davenport.

"And they all have alibis for the night of the kidnapping?" asked Hotch.

"All accounted for by the local FBI field office. Cheryl flew in yesterday. I'm just making sure that she's not alone even for- Sorry. I just feel like I'm suffocating here. I just want somebody to tell me that she's OK." said Mr. Davenport.

Gideon looked towards Spencer who was waiting patiently.

"Dr. Reid..." said Gideon.

Spencer came towards Hotch, Gideon, and Mr. Davenport causing Mr. Davenport to look at Spencer.

"What do the statistics tell us?" asked Gideon.

Spencer made eye contact with Mr. Davenport.

"If you follow their instructions and give them the money, your daughter will be returned." said Spencer as an agent looked at them.

"Done. This house is bug free." said the agent, causing another agent to address a team.

"All right, bring it in!" said Agent Shyer as Spencer walked away to start profiling the house.

A few minutes later Spencer was in Mr. Davenport's study with Gideon when Mr. Davenport picked up a book.

"They're not entirely identical. They're mirror twins. Some of Trish's organs are on the right side that should be on the left." said Mr. Davenport as   
he placed a book on Gideon's lap, "Doctors assured us that it wasn't life-threatening." said Mr. Davenport before sitting down.

"Situs inversus." said Spencer in Latin right before Gideon passed him the book.

"They had self-defense training?" asked Gideon as Spencer started reading the book.

"Yeah. I insisted on it. The protective detail rankled when they hit puberty and I was sure that they would refuse their bodyguards when they left   
for college." said Mr. Davenport as he looked at Spencer who was reading, "Excuse me. Can you actually read that fast?"

Spencer stopped reading and looked at Mr. Davenport.

"Our conscious minds can process 16 bits of information per second. Our unconscious, however, can process 11 million." said Spencer as he noticed Mr. Davenport looking at Gideon before looking at him again, "Yes, I-I can actually read this fast." stuttered Spencer.

"If whoever took her wants me to blow cases or suppress evidence or stand down, I..." said Mr. Davenport.

"What makes you think it's someone you prosecuted?" asked Gideon.

"Well, I have money, but I don't have millions. I mean, what else could it be?" asked Mr. Davenport.

"In our experience, Mr. Davenport every case is different." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was showing Mr. Davenport the phone that he would be using.

"This button answers the call this button makes everyone in the room silent. It'll flash red. You'll be able to hear his side of the conversation. He won't be able to hear us." explained Spencer.

"We'll be running the trace through the field office Evan, but you're in good hands with agent Gideon and his team." said Agent Shyer.

A minute later Spencer was joining Elle and Morgan in the Davenports kitchen and overheard what Elle was saying.

"You think Cheryl's a whack job because she claims she can feel her sister's anxiety?" asked Elle.

"I never said whack job." said Morgan.

"Actually there may be a physiological basis for it." said Spencer.

"Don't ask." said Morgan.

Spencer thought about the parenting books he read when Clarissa told him that he was going to be a dad.

"Reversed asymmetry monozygotic eggs split late, between 9 to 12 days. The DNA matches right down to the very last stranded code but there's sporadic documentation of shared physiological pain." said Spencer.

"And you believe it?" asked Morgan.

"No, I'm just saying it's possible. I don't know everything. I mean, despite the fact that you think that I do." said Spencer as Hotch joined them.

"I never said that. When have I ever said that?" asked Morgan.

"Every day since I met you." said Spencer as he saw Hotch's look of amusement from the corner of his eyes since Hotch already knew that he doesn't know everything.

"This morning at breakfast." said Elle.

"Yesterday when he beat you at cards." said Hotch before becoming serious, "Um... we've got one minute."

"Anybody ever heard of sarcasm?" asked Morgan.

"Mmm-mmm." said Spencer, Elle, and Hotch in unison.

A minute later Spencer was sitting down by a laptop and Gideon looked at Mr. Davenport.

"Remember, keep your voice even and calm, and agree with everything he says." said Gideon.

A few seconds later it was 8 PM and Mr. Davenport looked at the BAU team.

"He's late." said Mr. Davenport.

"He'll call. Just try to relax. This is his strategy. He wants you on edge." said Hotch just as the phone rang, causing Spencer to grab his headphones   
and put them on.

"Remember to repeat any important information he gives you to make sure you understand. You try to keep him talking to reveal something about   
Trish or about himself." said Gideon before pressing a button.

During the next couple of minutes Spencer took charge of typing the transcript and typing the profile on the unsub as he listened to Mr. Davenport and eventually Cheryl communicate with the unsub, and when the unsub hung up, Cheryl and her dad ran out of the room allowing Gideon to look at Spencer who was in charge of tracing the phone call since Garcia was currently helping another team with a case.

"Were you able to trace it?" asked Gideon.

Spencer removed his headphones.

"No. He's probably using a disposable cell phone. They're impossible to trace." said Spencer.

"She said she could see the moon." said Elle.

"She sounded delirious." said Gideon.

"She was sedated." said Spencer.

"Could have been a light." said Gideon.

"If he's keeping her drugged, it might mean he's not very strong. He might have to keep her weak just so he can dominate her." said Morgan.

"Or he's keeping her quiet." said Elle.

"Has Davenport told us everything about his staff?" asked Gideon.

"Oh, yeah, we have detailed reports but we should probably revisit background on household staff aides and current docket." said Hotch.

"Guys, she wasn't blindfolded." said Morgan.

"No." said Gideon.

"If she's seen his face, as soon as he gets that money..." said Morgan.

"He'll kill her." said Gideon.

A short while later Spencer was looking over the transcripts with Hotch, Gideon, and Morgan.

"He said owed." said Gideon.

"$500,000. His demand sounded scripted, like he was reading it to us." said Spencer.

"But the rest of the conversation wasn't. He was his most relaxed just talking to Cheryl." said Morgan.

"What does that mean?" asked Gideon.

"Maybe he already knew her. How much time we got?" asked Morgan.

"6 minutes." said Spencer.

Gideon looked at Mr. Davenport.

"How quickly can you get the money?" asked Gideon.

Six minutes later Spencer was typing the instructions that the unsub was giving them while typing his thoughts about the profile.

xxxxxxxxxx

Later on that night Spencer was talking to Morgan on the phone.

"Cheryl's car has GPS. We'll be able to track her." said Spencer.

"The first thing he's gonna do is have her switch cars. Where are we headed?" asked Morgan.

Spencer put the phone between his ear and shoulder so he could focus on tracking Cheryl's car while thinking about when Diana gets her drivers license at 16 he should make sure that her car has a GPS.

"Let's see." said Spencer as he did some typing, "An address which appears to be... A rental car lot." said Spencer before hanging up.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Morgan entered the house with Hotch and Cheryl.

"Cheryl's all right." said Morgan.

"Hey." said Elle before looking at Hotch. "Hi, Hotch."

At that moment the phone rang, causing Spencer to put on his headphones and get a laptop in front of him before Morgan answered the phone.

"That was fun, wasn't it? A little running around, getting our pulses racing. Are you there, Cheryl?" asked the unsub as Morgan silenced Cheryl, "Are you there?! Tell me you didn't feel a slight tingle, a thrill run up your spine. Huh? But those clever and cunning FBI agents deduced my little plan, just in time. They figured it out. If they hadn't, I would have had you both. The whole set. The matching pair." said the unsub as Spencer did some typing.

"Why are you doing this?" asked Cheryl.

"Because you asked me to, Cheryl. You asked me with your glances. The way you talk. Those little gestures." said the unsub before Spencer motioned to Morgan that he needed to mute them.

"What are you doing?" asked Cheryl.

"Do not answer this man." said Morgan.

"You asked for this! You asked for it, Cheryl!" shouted the unsub before Cheryl pressed the button so they could be heard.

"Cheryl!" shouted Morgan.

"What do you want?" asked Cheryl.

"What do I want?! You! It may not be today, it may not be tomorrow but I promise you, we will be together." said the unsub before hanging up.

A couple of minutes later Spencer and Gideon were sitting across from Mr. Davenport and Cheryl.

"We can't let Cheryl speak with him any further." said Gideon.

"Why not?" asked Mr. Davenport.

"It's only feeding his psychosis to allow your interaction. Was Trish involved in any serious relationships prior to the kidnapping?" asked Spencer.

"With the boy that was killed. They were together for 2 years." said Mr. Davenport.

Cheryl looked at her father.

"Trish didn't want me to tell you. They were getting engaged." said Cheryl.

Gideon looked at Spencer and thought about the wedding band that Spencer kept hidden.

"Well, that certainly could have been the unsub's stressor." said Gideon.

"What does that mean? Will someone please tell me what we're dealing with here?" asked Mr. Davenport.

"De Clerambault's syndrome, otherwise known as erotomania. The belief that someone, usually of a higher social status but not necessarily a celebrity, is in love with you. Erotomanics believe that the objects of their affection are subtly professing their love for them through looks, gestures-." explained Spencer.

"Glances. He said, "you asked me with your glances."" said Gideon.

"The unsub truly and full-heartedly believes that Cheryl and Trish are in love with him. They don't tell him this with their voices. No, with gestures and looks. He's obsessed with them." said Spencer.

"What does this mean?" asked Mr. Davenport.

"He is the most determined kind of criminal." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was already sitting by the laptop with his headphones on when the phone rang, and when Mr. Davenport tried to answer it, Gideon stopped him.

"Hold on, hold on, hold on." said Gideon as he let the phone ring a bit before hanging up.

"What are you doing? Agent Gideon..." said Mr. Davenport after Gideon hung up a second time.

A few seconds later Gideon gave in to answer the phone.

"Hello?" asked Gideon.

"Tell me there was a technical issue with the line because if you actually just hung up on m-" said the unsub before Gideon hung up again, and after Gideon played his game he finally answered the phone.

"Davenport residence." answered Gideon.

"Are you out of your mind? You do realize, you do understand, that I'll kill her?! Do you-" shouted the unsub before Gideon hung up.

The phone rang again.

"Thank you." said Gideon.

"You're killing my daughter! Pick up that phone!" shouted an angry Mr. Davenport as Morgan held him back as the phone rang again.

"Get him quiet. Get him quiet. I- Mr. Davenport, get a hold of yourself." said Gideon as Hotch and Morgan held Mr. Davenport back while Elle comforted Cheryl.

"Answer the phone!" shouted Mr. Davenport.

"Quiet him!" ordered Gideon before answering the phone.

"She is dead! You hang up on me again, and I rip her open!" shouted the unsub.

"I'm sorry. You must have the wrong number." said Gideon before hanging up again.

"Come on, Gideon." said Morgan.

"You killed her." cried Mr. Davenport.

"No, sir." said Gideon.

"Oh yes. Then what the hell do you think you're doing?" asked Mr. Davenport.

"I'm saving your daughter, Mr. Davenport." said Gideon as the phone rang again, "Have a little faith." said Gideon before turning on the phone again.

"Put Cheryl on the phone." said the unsub.

"No. You're finished talking to Cheryl." said Gideon.

"Listen to that tone of authority. Just like your published work, agent Gideon. Fascinating to hear the same arrogant quality in your own voice. You are a bit of a pedant, Jason, a bit didactic?" asked the unsub.

"Well, that's a very interesting conclusion. You sound intelligent, and you certainly sound educated, and... We both know that's not true." said Gideon.

"Oh, I know all about all of you. The ambitious agent Hotchner? Do you wanna be director of the FBI someday, agent Hotchner? Would you step on Jason Gideon to get there? I think you would. Post traumatic stress is a very good excuse. Even your sick, pregnant wife can't get you to leave your post." said the unsub, causing Spencer to look at his brother in law as he thought about how Clarissa's currently dealing with working third shift while visiting her sister-in-law in the hospital before listening to the unsub, "Jason Gideon, an expert in the criminal psyche yet unable to diagnose the autistic leanings of the very insecure Dr. Reid. Well, maybe he can make money counting cards in Las Vegas." said their unsub.

Spencer looked up as he thought about how his Asperger's syndrome is no secret at all since his teammates know that he occasionally has to deal with meltdowns when he's overstimulated, knowing that the unsub is wrong about his insecurity since he's more confident outside of work.

"The lovely Elle was promoted too soon. She doesn't have what it takes to make it in the BAU Boys club. You're no threat to me, you're no threat to anyone. And Token Derek Morgan wants to be taken seriously but he is just a pumped-up side of beef. I know who you are, I know how you think and I know what to do next! Do you?" asked the unsub before hanging up and Gideon smiled at how Spencer, Elle, and Morgan weren't even hurt about what the unsub said about them.

"What the hell was that? Why did he say that he knows what to do next? Is he gonna hurt my daughter?" asked Mr. Davenport.

"He was grandstanding." said Gideon.

"You don't know that. You-you can't possibly know that." said Mr. Davenport as Morgan held him back.

"Mr. Davenport, I have learned more in the last 5 minutes than in the last 24 hours." said Gideon.

"Oh, really? Well, I don't understand. Why is he focused on you right now?" asked Mr. Davenport.

"Because we are interfering in his relationship with the girls." said Morgan.

"He said he knows all about you." said Mr. Davenport.

"Yes, apparently." said Hotch as he realized that he was thankful that Clarissa wasn't even brought up at all.

"He profiled us, Mr. Davenport." said Morgan.

"Why would he do that?" asked Cheryl.

"To show us how smart he is." said Elle.

"Often times the best profilers are the unsubs themselves. They're the ones able to walk into an arcade full of children and pinpoint the boy or girl   
that can be led out quietly." said Spencer as he thought about with their unsub not bringing up his marriage or Diana he knew that he, Hotch, Gideon, and Strauss are doing a good job hiding it.

"But he made a mistake, because he gave us something he didn't expect." said Elle.

"Which is?" asked Mr. Davenport.

"He told us how to find him." said Gideon.

A minute later Mr. Davenport was looking at Gideon.

"You said you knew how to find him, that you were gonna save my daughter. Why don't you get out there and do something? What are you-  
everybody's standing around here, looking." said Mr. Davenport.

"Mr. Davenport- -" said Agent Shyer.

"Don't condescend me. Don't patronize me." said Mr. Davenport.

"Evan, Evan. Evan. Everybody is doing the best that they can. Come on. Come on. Take a break, come on." said Agent Shyer before leaving Mr. Davenport away.

As soon as Mr. Davenport left the room, Morgan looked at his team.

"For the suspect to know that much about us, he has to be one of us." said Morgan.

"I'm gonna have Garcia do a search of the New Haven FBI field office. The guy we're looking for knows this house, he knows the family." said Hotch.

Spencer thought about how he has spent almost seven years in New Haven.

"There's 700 agents in New Haven and another 70 in satellite offices. Davenport knows quite a few of them." said Spencer.

"While we're narrowing the list, Cheryl can't stay here. If he's one of us, he has access, weapons and you bet he's got a strategy." said Elle.

"So who can we trust?" asked Morgan.

"No one. We need to get Cheryl to a safe house." said Hotch.

"And limit the amount of agents she comes in contact with." said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was reading through the transcript while talking to Elle on the phone.

"They did a bug sweep, right when we arrived." said Elle.

"Yeah, I remember." said Spencer.

"And yet the unsub seems to know all about us." said Elle before realizing something, "Hey, Reid, do you know what non-local interaction is?"

"What are you getting at?" asked Spencer.

"How can he be holding Trish prisoner and still know exactly what we're talking about?" asked Elle.

"I know what you're saying. It seems like he knows what's going on here the moment that it happens." said Spencer.

"There's gotta be a listening device." said Elle.

"They swept the room when we got here." said Spencer.

"Yeah. And then they brought in their own equipment." said Elle before Spencer looked behind him before hanging up.

A minute later Spencer was fiddling with the phone, and a few seconds later a listening device was pulled out, causing Gideon to approach Mr. Davenport.

"Agent Shyer called you by your first name. You know him that well?" asked Gideon.

"He works out of the New York field office. I know his father. We've met socially on occasion." said Mr. Davenport.

"Has he been here before?" asked Gideon.

"A few times." said Mr. Davenport.

A minute later Gideon was calling Morgan who wasn't answering.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer walked outside with Gideon as paramedics brought Trisha outside, and before the doors closed on the Davenports, Mr. Davenport looked at Spencer and Gideon who were both smiling slightly at the reunion.

"Thank you." said Mr. Davenport.

As soon as the door closed, Spencer looked at Gideon.

"Hey, how did Elle get Shyer to give us Trish's location?" asked Spencer.

"I imagine she found some creative way to persuade him." said Gideon.

"What do you think-?" asked Spencer.

"You know, you just don't need to ask so many questions. Let's... just enjoy the moment." said Gideon before both men headed to an SUV.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day Spencer was leaving the firing range with Elle when Elle looked at Spencer.

"Did you ride in with Hotch this morning or took the train?" asked Elle as she thought about Spencer telling her that he lives two blocks away from Hotch.

"Rode in with Hotch, and Hotch was planning on going to the hospital so I was going to take the train home." said Spencer.

"How about I give you a ride home, Chico." said Elle as she decided to loop arms with Spencer.

"OK." shrugged Spencer.

A short while later Spencer was in the front passenger seat of Elle's car, and after Elle put Spencer's address into the GPS, she looked at Spencer.

"Since we're somewhere where JJ, Garcia, and Morgan aren't listening in, how about you tell me about Clarissa and your daughter?" asked Elle

"I met Clarissa on November 30th in 2000." said Spencer as he explained what he was doing and what Clarissa said to him before looking at Elle, "I also met Hotch that day." said Spencer.

"Really?" asked Elle.

"Clarissa didn't want me to be alone, so she begged Hotch over the phone to let me join them." said Spencer.

"You must have been scared of meeting Hotch that day." said Elle.

"He was actually nice to me, and when he found out about my IQ, memory, reading speed, and finding out the list of degrees under my belt he asked me what I was planning on doing after college since he told me that the FBI is always looking for academics." said Spencer.

"Sometimes more brains are needed than brawn." smiled Elle before thinking about Clarissa, "How long did it take you to ask Clarissa out?"

"We were friends for two weeks since I was grieving, and during those two weeks Clarissa helped me pack up the house that I lived in with aunt   
Ethel and uncle Gordon before I was old enough to live in the dorms while showing up at the funeral despite only knowing me for two days." said   
Spencer before smiling a bit, "It was a couple of days before Clarissa's 19th birthday that I ended up calling Hotch and asked him for his blessing to ask Clarissa to be my girlfriend." said Spencer.

"He actually gave you his blessing?" asked Elle.

"He sure did, and when I attended MIT for two years we managed our relationship by daily phone calls and visiting each other twice a month." said Spencer.

"So how long did it take you to propose to her?" asked Elle.

"On the one year anniversary of the day I met her, I was in New Haven since I was invited to join my uncle's former coworkers for dinner, and I took her to the bench where we met and asked her to marry me." said Spencer.

"Aww." said Elle before coming serious, "What about the wedding?"

"We had a church wedding at Clarissa's childhood church in Manassas, Virginia on our second anniversary of the day we met." said Spencer.

"So November 30th will always be a special day for you two." said Elle.

"Yes." said Spencer.

"So what's Clarissa's personality like?" asked Elle.

Spencer laughed.

"Clarissa's a free spirited woman, so Hotch and Gideon have witnessed me be a totally different person outside of work since Clarissa has brought me out of my shell since the day I met her." said Spencer.

"Does Clarissa glare just like our boss?" asked Elle.

"Oh yeah, and despite being almost 22 months old, Diana already has mastered the Hotchner glare." said Spencer.

"I bet Hotch is proud of his niece." said Elle.

Spencer nodded.

"He sure is because Diana is also advanced for her age since she has inherited my intelligence, but her personality is just like Clarissa's so Diana got the best from both Clarissa and I." said Spencer before his phone vibrated and he smiled at the text message from Clarissa.

I'M COOKING DINNER WITH LUCY RIGHT NOW, SO WHY DON'T YOU BRING ELLE INSIDE SINCE I WANT TO MEET HER. ~ CR

"Clarissa's making dinner right now, and you're invited." said Spencer.

"Since Morgan, JJ, and Garcia mentioned that they never been inside your house, you're willing to let me inside?" asked Elle.

"You promised to keep Clarissa and Diana a secret, and you don't tease me like Morgan does." said Spencer.

"Then I'm honored to meet them." said Elle.

"Just so you know, Clarissa and I have a live in nanny for Diana." said Spencer.

"Why a live in nanny?" asked Elle.

"Clarissa's a pediatric nurse at Children's National, and one week a month Clarissa's required to work third shift so with my unpredictable hours we decided that a live in nanny is the best option." said Spencer.

"Makes sense, and does Clarissa love being a nurse?" asked Elle.

"She loves being a nurse, and some of the patients have drawn pictures for me." said Spencer.

"Aww." said Elle.

Spencer looked at Elle nervously.

"Please don't be shocked at the size of the house I live in." said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Elle.

"After my parents died, my aunt and uncle started a trust fund for me that I couldn't access until I turned 21." said Spencer before taking a death   
breath, "When aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon died, the money in that trust fund increased quite a bit because I put the money from selling the house that I spent my teenage years in and the insurance money that I received into that trust fund since I was already residing in the dorms." said Spencer.

Elle looked at Spencer.

"I saw a few classmates blow off their trust funds on things that they don't even need, but you decided to be the responsible 24 year old husband and father by making sure that you and your family have a safe place to live in while providing stable childcare for your daughter." said Elle.

A few minutes later Spencer was putting his gun in the safe just as he smiled at the sound of his daughter running towards the foyer.

"Daddy!" shouted Diana as she ran into her daddy's legs.

Elle smiled when she watched Spencer swoop up his little girl and blow a raspberry on her belly before kissing the giggling toddler on the cheek before a wide eyed Diana stared at Elle.

"Daddy?" asked Diana before burying her face into her daddy's neck.

"Diana, I would like to introduce you to my friend Elle." said Spencer.

"Hi there sweetie." said Elle as she smiled at the little girl.

"Hi." said Diana before burying her head in her daddy's neck before Spencer led Elle into the kitchen where Clarissa and Lucy were making dinner together.

"Hey." said Spencer as he made his way to Clarissa and pecked her on the lips.

"Hey yourself." said Clarissa causing Elle to realize that Clarissa spoke with a southern accent.

Spencer looked at Elle as he set Diana onto the floor.

"Elle, I would like you to introduce you to my wife Clarissa and our live in nanny Lucy." said Spencer.

Elle looked at Clarissa and noticed that she was wearing jeans, a t-shirt that showed an appropriate amount of cleavage, had her long dark hair pulled into a messy ponytail, and wore glasses.

"Spencer has told me quite a bit about you Elle." said Clarissa as she shook hands with Elle before looking at her husband, "There's about 20 minutes before dinner will be done, so you have enough time to change out of your work clothes."

"I will be back soon." said Spencer as he gave his wife another peck on the cheek before leaving the room to head upstairs when Elle felt a small hand tug her on hand.

"Pwease pway wit me." said Diana as she showed Elle the doll that her uncle Aaron got for her.

"I will be glad to play with you, Diana." said Elle.

"Up pwease." said Diana.

Elle scooped up Diana and after Clarissa told her where the living room, was she played with Diana for eight minutes before she heard a familiar voice.

"Are you showing off the doll that uncle Aaron and aunt Haley gave you on my birthday?" asked Spencer as he joined his daughter and Elle on the floor.

"Yes, daddy." said Diana.

Elle took in the appearance of her youngest coworker and her eyes widened when she saw Spencer wearing broken in jeans that actually fit him, a MIT t-shirt, wore his glasses instead of his contact lenses, and had his wedding band on his left ring finger.

"You are totally a different person outside of work." said Elle as she saw a white cat jump onto Spencer's lap, causing her to think about Morgan telling her that dogs hate Spencer.

"When it comes to spending most of my life with kids and adults much older than me, I always had to act older than my actual age." said Spencer before smiling a bit, "But when I'm home I'm able to act my actual age while focusing on my duties as a husband and father." said Spencer as he ran a hand through Diana's curly brown hair.

"True." said Elle just as Clarissa came into the living room.

"Dinner is done." said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer was putting his daughter in her high chair, and while eating Spencer and Clarissa ended up telling Elle funny stories as they ate dinner.

xxxxxxxxxxx

After dinner was cleaned up, Spencer walked Elle outside and Elle looked at her friend.

"Clarissa's definitely a good influence on you." said Elle as she thought about getting to see Spencer be playful during dinner.

"I know." said Spencer before smiling a bit, "I can't wait for my nephew to be born since Clarissa and I are already spoiling him rotten since Hotch and Haley both love spoiling Diana." said Spencer.

"Well I should head home." said Elle.

"Thanks for joining us for dinner, and please text me when you get home to let me know that you made it safely." said Spencer.

"I promise, and I won't tell JJ, Morgan, and Garcia that I was at your house for dinner." said Elle.

"Thanks." said Spencer.

A minute later Elle was pulling out of the driveway, and when he was in the middle of bathing his daughter he got a text from Elle.

I MADE IT HOME SAFELY, AND I WILL SEE YOU AT WORK TOMORROW. ~ EG


	21. LDSK

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even though I have Spencer being a better shot in this universe, he did struggle with the last firearms qualification so you readers will find out why while getting to witness how scary Clarissa can be when she's angry (She doesn't hit Spencer except for the playful slaps to his chest, but when her brothers make her angry she's not afraid to smack them if she thinks that they deserve it).
> 
> This chapter starts on October 24th of 2005, so Diana's now 22 months old. I'm sorry that there's no Diana in this chapter, but I promise that she will be in the next chapter since her cousin Jack Hotchner will make his first appearance.

Spencer shot his glock and grimaced when he saw that he didn't hit the target. Hotch who was standing behind him spoke up.

"On SWAT, we broke shots down into 3 steps. One-front sight. Focus on the front sight, not on the target. 2- controlled trigger press. 3- follow through. After the shot, you come right back to the target. Now, what did you do wrong?" asked Hotch.

"I didn't follow through." said Spencer.

"Right. You came off the target to see where you hit." said Hotch.

"Hotch, my firearms qualification is tomorrow morning." said Spencer as he set down his gun and removed his earmuffs, "I barely passed my last one."

Hotch placed a hand on his brother in law's shoulder and gently moved him aside, causing Spencer to put his earmuffs back on.

"Front sight, trigger press..." said Hotch as he shot his gun, "Follow through. You do those 3 things, you'll hit your target every time." said Hotch as he holstered his gun and stepped away so Spencer could try again.

A few seconds later Spencer shot his glock again and groaned when he saw that the bullet hit the target's groin, causing Hotch to smirk as he thought about Elle telling him about the trip she had with Spencer to the firing range.

"Did Elle teach you that?" asked Hotch.

"They're gonna take away my gun." groaned Spencer.

Hotch instantly knew that he needed to calm his brother-in-law down.

"A profiler is not required to carry." said Hotch.

"Yeah? And yet you carry 2 of them." said Spencer as he gestured to Hotch's ankle.

Hotch bent down, grabbed his ankle piece and fired it a few times before removing his earmuffs.

"When I joined the BAU, Gideon said to me, "you don't have to carry a gun to kill someone."" said Hotch.

"I don't get it." said Spencer softly.

"You will. Good luck tomorrow." said Hotch as he clapped his brother in law on the shoulder before walking away.

Spencer put his earmuffs back on, and less than a minute later Spencer was firing his glock again before noticing how blurry his vision was.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that night, Spencer looked at Clarissa as they got ready for bed.

"When I was at the firing range with your brother this afternoon, I noticed that my vision was a bit blurry through my contacts." said Spencer.

"You don't see Dr. Ryan until next week, but I will call and see if they can bump up your appointment to Friday." said Clarissa as she pulled on one of Spencer's MIT t-shirts.

"I just know that I'm going to fail tomorrow, since I barely passed my last one." said Spencer.

"I don't care if you fail because I will always love you whether you pass or fail." said Clarissa as she gently kissed her husband on the lips.

Spencer started to remove Clarissa's t-shirt, but she stopped her husband.

"I rather wait since you should be well rested for tomorrow morning." said Clarissa.

Spencer shook his head as he gently kissed her on the lips, and a few minutes later they were in bed in each others arms as they talked about their day and Diana before falling asleep.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Agent Foster looked at Spencer.

"I'm sorry to say that you failed, but I'm wondering what happened to your aim since you scored a near perfect score a year ago, and you barely passed six months ago before failing today?" asked Agent Foster as he looked at Spencer's past scores.

"Yesterday I noticed that my vision was a bit blurry, and I'm suppose to have my yearly vision exam next week." said Spencer.

"Have you considered seeing if you can bump up your appointment?" asked Agent Foster.

"I called the clinic before coming here, and they got me in for Friday afternoon." said Spencer.

"Well hopefully when you come back in two weeks, your updated prescription will help your scores get back to like they were." said Agent Foster.

"I hope so too." said Spencer before looking at his watch, "I have to head back to the BAU."

A few minutes later Spencer was heading to the BAU without the familiar weight on his hip, and before he knew it he was back at his desk when Morgan approached him while hiding something behind his back.

"Hey. We're all here for you. I'm serious. If you ever need anything..." said Morgan as he placed a whistle over Spencer's head and blew on it, "Just blow on that."

Spencer shot Morgan a dirty look as he quickly removed the whistle from over his head and slammed it onto his desk while noticing the sympathetic look that Elle was giving him just as Hotch approached them while a laughing Morgan took a sip of his coffee.

"OK, Franklin Park, Des Plaines, yesterday afternoon. 3 victims shot at distance. It's the third such shooting in 2 weeks." said JJ as she passed files around.

"A sniper?" asked Elle.

"We don't use that word." said Morgan.

"Why not?" asked Elle.

"The public perception is that the FBI doesn't have an exemplary record with snipers." said JJ.

"Besides, a sniper is a professional marksman. These guys aren't snipers." said Hotch as he thought about the lecture he was going to have to give Morgan since he witnessed his prank.

"What do we call 'em then?" asked Elle.

"LDSK." said Hotch.

"Long distance serial killers." said Spencer as he spoke for the first time since leaving the firing range.

"How many of these guys have we caught using a profile?" asked Elle.

"None." said Gideon.

A few minutes later everyone was in the conference room.

"2 weeks, 3 shooting incidents, 6 victims, all shot in the abdomen. First and only fatality, Henry Sachs, married, father of 3, was shot in a shopping center parking lot. 9 days later, Doug Miller and Kevin parks were playing basketball at a community center. Franklin park, 4 days later, Jerry Middleton, Kate Murray, and Tim Reilly. Des Plaines police have found no link between any of the victims." said Hotch.

"Ballistics?" asked Morgan.

"He's using frangible rounds, which fragment on impact, making ballistics comparisons impossible." said Hotch.

"The good news is that all the park victims are gonna make it. The bad new is that none of them saw anything. However, one of the patients does have an intact bullet lodged in his spine." said JJ.

"What's the prognosis?" asked Gideon.

"There's a disagreement amongst surgical staff as to whether they can remove the slug without paralyzing the patient." said JJ.

"Well, without a useful witness or a solid piece of forensic evidence..." said Morgan.

"The profile's all we'll have." said Hotch.

A few minutes later they were heading to the jet, and Spencer looked at Hotch.

"I ended up bumping up my yearly vision exam to this Friday." said Spencer as he explained how he noticed that his vision was a bit blurry through his contacts while making sure to tell Hotch that he thinks that it's his vision that made his fail.

"That could be a reason, and I will make sure that you don't miss that appointment." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxx

A short while later everyone was on the jet.

"LDSKs are so rare, we haven't been able to build a standard profile. Here's what we do know: They're always male, they frequently have law enforcement or military experience, and they always contact the police or the media." said Hotch.

JJ who was sitting next to Spencer spoke up.

"To take credit or relive the experience?" asked JJ.

"Both. All serial killers attempt to relive the ecstasy they get from their killings. Some use souvenirs taken from the victims, and others return to  
the dump site to interact with the body. Both modes require contact with the victim, contact which, by definition, long distance serial killers don't have." said Gideon.

"The Beltway Shooters left a tarot card at one of their crime scenes. Later they called a tip hotline, which ultimately led to their capture." said Hotch.

"But our unsub hasn't contacted anybody." said Morgan.

"He will." said Hotch.

"Until he does, what do we have?" asked Elle.

"Sometimes it's not what the unsub does that reveals the profile. Sometimes it is what they do not do." said Gideon.

"He doesn't kill his victims." said Spencer.

"Underkill's a unique signature." said Gideon.

"The question is, does he shoot them in the stomach intentionally just to wound them, or is he just aiming at the biggest part of the target?" asked  
Hotch and after a few seconds of silence he spoke up again, "Specifically, does the unsub lack the skill to make the head shot, or simply the will to take it?"

xxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer got out of the back seat of the SUV and followed Hotch and Morgan to the detective that called them in.

"Agent Hotchner." said Detective Calvin as she shook hands with Hotch.

Hotch looked at the detective as she shook Morgan's hand.

"Detective Calvin, this is Agent Morgan, Agent Reid." said Hotch as he thought about calling his brother-in-law Agent instead of doctor would cheer him up a bit as he watched Spencer give a rare handshake.

"Thanks for coming. Follow me." said Detective Calvin as Spencer, Hotch, and Morgan followed her, "The cones mark the places where the victims were." said Detective Calvin as she pointed out the area.

"So we know he fired from somewhere in this area. Close enough to hit all 3 victims, but far away enough not to be seen." said Hotch as he took a look of his surroundings.

"His wounding his victims intentionally would classify him as a sadistic killer." said Spencer.

"That would help us?" asked Detective Calvin as she looked at the young man next to her.

"We know a lot about sadists. But most want to be close to their victims to watch them suffer." said Morgan.

"A powerful scope would allow him to observe it from a safe distance" said Spencer.

"So how do we determine if he's a sadist?" asked Detective Calvin.

"We spend some time in his shoes. We let him tell us." said Morgan.

A few minutes later Spencer was standing next to Hotch with his arms crossed

"This handicapped spot couldn't be further away from the entrance to the building." said Hotch.

"Yeah?" asked Morgan.

"It also has line of sight to all 3 victims and the flagpole." said Hotch.

"What are you thinking?" asked Morgan.

"At this range, the unsub would have to factor in wind direction and speed as he shot. To do this, he needed a spot with the widest field of fire and line of sight to the flagpole. He came here before the shooting, decided this was his spot... And ensured that it would be empty when he came back. My guess is he's shooting from his car." said Hotch.

"Well, that would mean he wanted to get away from here quickly, that he didn't stick around to watch his victims suffer." said Morgan.

"So he would not be a sadist." said Spencer as Morgan shook his head.

"What would he be?" asked Detective Calvin.

"A very smart, very resourceful, very paranoid, sociopath." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

A while later Spencer was standing by Hotch and Detective Calvin as Morgan took a phone call from Garcia.

"We think the shooter has intimate knowledge of law enforcement procedures." said Hotch.

"Detective Calvin, how far out of your jurisdiction was crime scene number 2?" asked Spencer.

"About a sixth of a mile. Why?" asked Detective Calvin.

"If he knew how difficult it is for local police departments to interact with each other, he may have intentionally crossed jurisdiction lines." said  
Spencer as he thought about how his uncle had to handle cases that crossed his jurisdiction lines.

"Y'all are saying' the shooter's a cop." said Detective Calvin.

"We're saying it's a possibility. He scouted and prepped each crime scene. He chose an elevated position with excellent enfilade and perfect field of fire." said Hotch.

"That's textbook military practice." said Detective Calvin.

"True." said Hotch.

"Yeah, but maybe he was in the army." said Detective Calvin as Morgan rejoined them.

"He was probably a marine, ranger or other specialized unit. Garcia says the bullet was a .223 fired from the m-4 variant of the m-16." said Morgan.

"All the services use an m-4." said Spencer.

"It's got a shorter barrel than the m-16. It's less accurate, and it's a lot harder to fire, especially at these distances. This level of skill indicates specialized training." said Morgan.

"If he has specialized training, he knows exactly what he's doing." said Spencer.

"He intended to wound them." said Hotch.

"The underkill is deliberate." said Morgan.

"Everything he does is deliberate, but it's as if he needs to show us how smart he is." said Hotch.

"Since the crime scenes aren't centered around one single location, Garcia can't get a geographic profile without additional data." said Morgan as he knew that neither he, Hotch, or Spencer will like it.

"What kind of data?" asked Detective Calvin.

"More crime scenes." said Morgan.

"She's gonna get 'em. This guy's got something to prove." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that evening Spencer walked towards Gideon causing Gideon to look up at him.

"How you holding' up?" asked Gideon.

"Look at me. Without a gun on my belt, I look like a teacher's assistant." said Spencer.

"You're not worried about how you look." said Gideon as he thought about during Spencer's time in the academy and even in the BAU, there were still people that wouldn't take Spencer seriously due to his youth since he became an SSA right out of the academy due to his degrees.

"Hotch told me that when he came to the BAU, you told him he didn't need a gun to kill somebody?" asked Spencer.

"Well, the only truly effective weapon we have is our ability to do the one thing they can't." said Gideon.

"Which is what?" asked Spencer.

"Empathize. They dehumanize their victims. We humanize the killers." said Gideon.

Spencer closed his eyes.

"You're just saying that to convince me I don't need to carry a gun." said Spencer.

"I don't care you carry a gun or not. Deadliest weapon we have is a thorough and accurate profile." said Gideon.

"Of course you believe that." said Spencer.

"Footpath killer, he had a shotgun in the back of my head. I'm here, he's not." said Gideon before he walked away.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

The next afternoon Spencer was standing by the area where Tim Reilly was standing, taking pictures as he listened to his teammates before addressing his team and the assisting officers through his walkie talkie.

"I do have a clear view of the vehicle from here. Tim Reilly would have seen it if he'd looked down from the kite." said Spencer.

"Good. Have the unsub pop the trunk. See if Reid can see it." said Gideon.

Spencer looked towards the area that their acting unsub was in before addressing everyone.

"No, sorry." said Spencer before hearing Gideon and then Hotch.

"OK, everyone, move to position 2." said Hotch.

A few minutes later Morgan was tackling Spencer to the ground.

"Reid." said Morgan.

"What?" asked Spencer.

"Reid, get down." said Morgan as he brought Spencer down with him before instructing him to get to the closest tree with him, and kept Spencer  
back when he heard a gunshot so Spencer wouldn't have to see what was going on.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer followed his teammates into a classroom that was available for officers.

"How did McCarty end up playing the unsub?" asked JJ as she thought about the officer that got killed.

"Weigart punished McCarty for mouthing off during the profile briefing by making him the unsub and sticking him in the trunk of the car all afternoon." said Detective Calvin.

"Wait. Then how did the unsub find out about the reenactment?" asked JJ.

"Come on. Cops talk. Pissed-off cops talk loud- at home, at the bars, at gyms, and to anyone who'll listen." said Morgan as Spencer thought about talking to Clarissa, helps him.

"What do we know? Our unsub went from wounding civilians to executing a police officer, so he's escalated. He's not staying on script." said  
Gideon.

"Sometimes it's what they don't do." said Hotch.

"He did not pick McCarty at random." said Spencer.

"He didn't take the gut shot." said Morgan.

"Why?" asked Hotch.

"He wants to send a message." said Gideon.

""Nobody takes credit for my work."" said Hotch.

"Yes, sir. His ego won't allow it. He feels underappreciated." said Gideon.

"OK, but we still don't know why he wounds them." said Elle as Morgan's cellphone rang.

"Excuse me." said Morgan before walking away.

"We know if the killer has no contact with his victims, he will contact the media." said Gideon.

"But he hasn't contacted the media." said Elle.

"He has contact with his victims." said Gideon.

"And there's only one way." said Hotch as Morgan walked over.

"All right, thanks." said Morgan before hanging up and looked at his team and Detective Calvin, "Garcia nailed down the geographic profile. The crime scenes are centered on 2 separate locations." said Morgan.

"The hospitals." said Hotch as he thought about how Clarissa loves working at Children's National.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was in a car with Gideon and Detective Calvin.

"I believe it's a case of hero homicide." said Gideon.

"What's that?" asked Detective Calvin.

"The best-known case was hospital nurse Richard Angelo. He would inject toxins into his victims, then wait for them to crash so that he could run to the rescue and save them. He killed 25 people, and that's just what we know of." said Spencer.

"If he attacked 'em to save 'em, why'd he kill 25 people?" asked Detective Calvin.

"Wasn't very good at it." said Gideon.

"Yeah, and hospitals don't keep records of people who almost died." said Spencer as he thought about the times he had to comfort a crying Clarissa when she lost a patient or almost lost a patient.

"So what's the profile on one of these guys?" asked Detective Calvin.

"Arrogant, conceited, feels superior to everyone around them." said Gideon.

"You've just described every surgeon I've ever met." said Detective Calvin causing Gideon to flash back to the day before.

"Landman." said Gideon before calling Hotch, "Let's start with Landman."

A few minutes later they arrived at the hospital, and Gideon looked at Detective Calvin.

"Call Weigart and tell him we need a discreet perimeter around this block." said Gideon.

"I'm gonna go check out Landman's car." said Hotch before driving away.

A few minutes later Spencer was in a conference room with Gideon, JJ, Elle, Morgan, and Detective Calvin when Morgan grabbed what Garcia faxed to him.

"Ok. Courtesy of Garcia. Landman was army, started out in M. P. School." said Morgan.

"Well, there's your law enforcement." said Elle as Gideon stood up.

"But he was smart, got a degree on uncle Sam, ended up a doctor with special forces and bounced around from hospital to hospital since his discharge in 2001." said Morgan.

"Has Dr. Landman been under any unusual strain? Has he had a reprimand? Has he had any kind of major blow to his ego?" asked Gideon

"Last month, he was passed over for chief of surgery." said Cheryl Marson.

"Let's get a warrant for his house. Let's see if we find the weapon." said Gideon.

"OK." said Morgan as he got up.

"What can I do to help?" asked Cheryl.

"You can tell me where he is right now." said Gideon.

A few minutes later Hotch was approaching Spencer, Elle, and JJ.

"You get anything from his car?" asked Elle.

"It's a red 2-seat Maserati." said Hotch.

"Heh. Of course." said JJ.

"If he's the shooter, he has another vehicle." said Hotch as he joined in on watching Gideon talk to Dr. Landman, and a few minutes later Hotch looked at Spencer.

"Reid, let's take a walk down to the ER." said Hotch.

Spencer immediately followed his boss, and Hotch looked at Spencer as they walked to the ER.

"My guess, Dr. Pate is gonna corroborate Landman's alibi." said Hotch.

"You don't think Landman's the shooter?" asked Spencer.

"Richard Angelo wanted to be a hero because in his everyday life, he was a nobody. Landman's a surgeon. He has power and recognition." said Hotch.

"Yeah, but you know, surgeons are a different breed. There are stars in the field, and Landman is definitely not one of them." said Spencer.

A minute later Spencer and Hotch were approaching a nurse when Hotch pulled out his badge and showed it to the male nurse.

"Excuse me. I'd like to speak with Dr. Pate." said Hotch.

"Yes, sir. I'll go find her for you." said the male nurse before walking away.

Hotch looked at Spencer.

"The motivations for hero homicide are excitement, power, and respect, and even though Landman's not a star, he still gets respect. Racing against the clock to save someone's life is exciting." said Hotch as he thought about how Clarissa's satisfied when a child she takes care of gets recovered enough to go home with his or her parents.

"But maybe it's not exciting enough. That's-that's why he shoots 3 people at a time." said Spencer.

"But he can only operate on one at a time. It wouldn't be any more exciting." said Hotch before he and Spencer watched doctors and nurses take care of patients for about 20 seconds before making eye contact again, "At least, not for Landman and not in the O. R."

"The policemen and ER Personnel are on the exact same 24-hour shift schedule." said Spencer quietly.

"The unsub wasn't shooting at shift change because there are fewer cops on the street. He works the second shift in the emergency room." said Hotch.

"Contact with the victims." said Spencer.

Hotch instantly pulled out his phone to call Gideon, only to be stopped by the head nurse.

"Sir, you can't use the cell phone in the hospital." said the head nurse.

Hotch pocketed his phone before motioning Spencer to follow him as they approached the nurse.

"Excuse me, please. We're FBI agents, and we believe that one of your staff members might be the sniper. The man we're looking for works second shift, and he would have transferred from Arlington about 2 weeks ago." said Hotch.

"We haven't hired any new personnel in 2 months." said the head nurse.

"Are you sure?" asked Hotch.

"Yeah." said the nurse before looking at Spencer and Hotch, "Look, I've got patients who need me."

Hotch stopped the head nurse from walking away.

"He's in his thirties. He's vain, rude, arrogant. He works out. He shows up to work late. He blames others for his mistakes, doesn't take responsibility for his behavior. All of his coworkers detest him." said Hotch.

The head nurse realized who Hotch was describing.

"It's Phillip Dowd. He's-he picks up shifts at Arlington." whispered the head nurse.

"Is he here today?" asked Hotch.

"Oh, my god." said the nurse.

"OK... OK, your patients need you. Tell me, is Dowd working today?" asked Hotch.

The nurse nodded.

"Do you see him?" asked Hotch.

The nurse looked around before shaking her head no, causing Hotch to place a gentle hand on Spencer's shoulder.

"Go tell Gideon." said Hotch.

Spencer started to run off before Hotch looked at him.

"Reid." said Hotch as he motioned Spencer to slow down, "Easy." instructed Hotch.

A few seconds later Spencer was walking in the hallway when the nurse from earlier swung his rifle at Spencer's head, causing him to fall onto the ground before a security guard tried to apprehend him. Phillip Dowd shot at the fuse box, causing lights to go out before the emergency generator turned on while alarms went off making Hotch pull out his gun and aim it at Dowd.

"Nobody moves, and nobody dies. Better be a head shot. I got this on full auto. Anything less, I go down squeezing the trigger." said Dowd, causing Hotch to put his gun down before Dowd knocked the security guard onto his knees and made his way to Hotch and took the gun before looking at Spencer, "Get up! Get over here!"

Spencer slowly got to his feet with his hands in the air.

"Double time! Let's go!" ordered Dowd.

Spencer ran over and stood up next to Hotch before Dowd looked at Hotch.

"You, take your partner's gun, put it on the counter." said Dowd.

"He's not armed. See for yourself." said Hotch.

Dowd slowly made his way to Spencer and Hotch.

"Hands on your heads." ordered Dowd.

Spencer and Hotch placed their hands on their heads before Dowd removed Spencer's messenger bag from around Spencer's shoulders and patted Spencer down before noticing no gun or holster.

"Get up, Keith." said Dowd as he pulled out zip ties and put them aside, "Put those on 'em."

Keith put the zip ties around Spencer's wrists before putting them around Hotch's wrists, and when Keith was finished, Dowd looked at Keith.

"Now put 'em on yourself." ordered Dowd causing Keith to follow Dowd's orders before Dowd ordered Keith to keep on backing up until he knocked Keith out with his rifle before looking at Spencer.

"Get down on the ground." ordered Dowd.

Spencer instantly obeyed Dowd's orders and knelt down onto the ground while he kept calm, wishing that he was at home with Clarissa and Diana before Dowd looked at Hotch.

"Have a seat." ordered Dowd.

Hotch followed Dowd's instructions before Dowd looked at Spencer and Hotch.

"Now, what kind of an FBI agent doesn't carry a gun?" asked Dowd.

"I'm a profiler." said Spencer.

"Profiler? They sent you to figure me out." said Dowd.

"We did. That's how we found you." said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Shut up, Reid." hissed Hotch.

"No, don't shut up. Tell me what you think you know about me." said Dowd.

Hotch looked at his brother in law as he thought about how his words were possibly going to hurt Spencer while Clarissa will be angry at him.

"Go ahead, genius. Tell him. Tell him. But remember, get it wrong, and he's gonna kill you." said Hotch as he thought about how he didn't want to have Diana grow up without her father since Spencer lost his biological father at four and his uncle at 19.

"OK. You're the boss. You tell me. Who am I? What's my plan?" asked Dowd.

"I know you shot 11 people in broad daylight and left us nothing, you executed a cop in front of the FBI and got away clean, and I know your plan is to go down in a hail of bullets." said Hotch as he worked on keeping his voice calm to help keep Spencer calm.

"What else do you know?" asked Dowd.

"I know you're the smartest guy in every room you've ever been in, and no one's ever known it. People feel threatened by you and try to sabotage you every chance they get. You're not a bad person. You help save all of your victims afterwards. First guy wasn't your fault. If the EMTs had been there on time, he would've lived." said Hotch.

"Took those guys 13 minutes. 13!" said Dowd.

"You want to barricade the door." said Hotch.

"What?" asked Dowd.

"Let me and the kid do it. Let 'em see that you've got 2 FBI agents in here doing your bidding." said Hotch as he thought about how much he hates calling Spencer a kid, despite him being two months older than his baby sister.

"Right, let you give them a signal." said Dowd.

"What signal? They knew you were in here. They knew you were armed. What can I tell them?" asked Hotch.

Dowd lifted up his rifle again causing cries in the room.

"What is this, some sort of profiler trick? New negotiation tactic?" asked Dowd before realizing something, "The barricade's a good idea. Why would you wanna help me?" asked Dowd as he lowered his gun a bit.

"I don't." said Hotch.

"You said they knew I was in here." said Dowd.

"I said they know you're in here." said Hotch.

"No. That's not what you said." said Dowd.

"Why does it matter?" asked Spencer.

"It matters because your partner wants to help me, even though he doesn't know it. Go ahead, boss man. Tell him why. If you lie or leave anything  
out, pop." said Dowd.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"They knew he was in here, they knew he was armed and dangerous, and they knew that he was gonna fight till the last round, and they sent me in here with an unarmed kid who can't shoot his way out of a wet paper bag." said Hotch.

"They set you up." said Dowd.

"Exactly, and they're probably laughing about it right now." said Hotch.

"That's why you wanna help me." said Dowd.

"I wouldn't say I want to help you, but when they come in here to get revenge for the cop you killed, you're gonna go down fighting, and in the crossfire, a lot of us are gonna die." said Hotch causing whimpers around the room, "They sent me in here. I figure why make it easy for them."

For the next few minutes hostages were being placed by the barricade, and when everyone was in place, Hotch looked at Dowd.

"You know why they took away boy genius's gun?" asked Hotch as he noticed the look that Spencer was giving him.

"Why?" asked Dowd.

"He failed his qualification. Twice I year, I gotta listen to him whine about re-qualifying. So I tutor him... And he fails again." said Hotch.

"You think you got it rough? These people done nothing but undermine me since I got here." said Dowd.

"Put him next to the barricade. That way, when they blast their way in here, both of our problems are solved. That sort of thing can ruin a cop's  
career." said Hotch.

"You are one sick dude." said Dowd.

"How do you think I found you?" asked Hotch before thinking about the gun that was in his ankle holster that Dowd forgot to check for, "Can I ask you a favor?"

"You can ask." said Dowd.

"I figure the chances of my getting out of here alive are pretty slim." said Hotch.

"So?" asked Dowd.

"I want to kick the snot out of this kid. He's made my life miserable for two lousy years." said Hotch as he knew that he thought about how he couldn't bring up that he has known Spencer for almost five years while Spencer didn't get into the academy until May of 2003.

Spencer realized that Hotch was going to have him grab his ankle piece so he instantly started to mentally prepare himself.

"Go ahead. Knock yourself out." said Dowd.

Hotch pushed Spencer down causing Spencer to prepare his body just as Hotch started to repeatedly kicking him in the stomach while trying to avoid his ribs.

"How smart are you now, smart guy?! It's front sight, trigger press, follow through!" shouted Hotch as he inwardly winced at the sounds of Spencer's groans, "That's enough! It's not that hard! A dalmatian could do it!" shouted Hotch just as he felt Spencer's hands on his ankle holster.  
"Let go! Let go!" shouted Hotch as Spencer let go of Hotch's legs and curled into himself while hiding the gun and made sure that the gun was ready to shoot as he moaned in pain.

"Feel better?" asked Dowd.

"I think he got the message." said Hotch as he thought about the possible injuries that he inflicted on Spencer.

Dowd immediately saw that Hotch's pant leg was up as he realized his mistake of not checking their legs.

"What's that?" asked Dowd causing him to raise his gun while Spencer was faster by rolling onto his back and nailing a shot into Dowd's, forehead causing Dowd to die instantly before Spencer curled into himself again as Hotch ran to the door.

"Federal agents!" shouted Hotch as he opened up the door, "It's all clear."

xxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was sitting on the back of an ambulance with his arms crossed when Hotch approached him.

"You all right?" asked Hotch.

"Yeah." whispered Spencer.

Hotch mimicked Spencer's stance by crossing his arms.

"Nice shot." said Hotch.

"I was aiming for his leg." said Spencer as he thought about how he was downplaying himself.

Hotch smiled slightly at Spencer's joke.

"I wouldn't have kept kicking, but I was afraid you didn't get my plans." said Hotch.

"I got your plan the minute you moved the hostages out of my line of fire." said Spencer.

"Well, I hope I didn't hurt you too badly." said Hotch as he thought about how bad high school was for Spencer.

"Hotch, I was a 12-year-old child prodigy in a Las Vegas public high school. You kick like a 9- year-old girl." smiled Spencer.

Hotch smiled and chuckled at Spencer's joke before Spencer reached for Hotch's gun and held it out to him.

"No. Keep it." said Hotch as he patted Spencer on the shoulder and was thankful when Spencer didn't flinch, "As far as I'm concerned, you passed your qualification." said Hotch before walking away as he thought about the phone call he was going to be making to Agent Foster.

Spencer looked at the gun for a moment then placed it in his pocket before getting up to head to an SUV when Morgan approached him, making him grab the whistle from his pocket.

"Reid, you all right?" asked Morgan.

Spencer tossed the whistle to Morgan as he continued to walk away as Morgan looked back at him.

"Touche, kid." said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer was looking out the jet's window as he thought about having to face his two girls as he thought about his first kill shot as Gideon sat down across from him.

"How you doin'?" asked Gideon as he thought about the phone call he had with Clarissa telling her what she should possibly expect.

"You were right. You don't need a gun to kill somebody." said Spencer.

"No, you don't." said Gideon.

"But it helps." said Spencer.

"Yes. It does." said Gideon.

"I- I know I should feel bad about...what happened. I mean... I killed a man. You know, I-I should...feel something. But I don't." said Spencer.

"Well, not knowing what you're feeling. That's not the same as not feeling anything. This is gonna hit you... And when it does... There's only 3 facts you need to know." said Gideon causing Spencer to lean forward, "You did what you had to do... And a lot of good people are alive because of what you did." said Gideon.

"What's the third?" asked Spencer.

"I'm proud of you, and you know that your uncle would be proud of you too." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer stepped into Hotch's office to see Hotch packing up.

"Here's my report." said Spencer as he handed Hotch the file.

"Let me drive you home." said Hotch.

10 minutes later Spencer was in the front passenger seat of Hotch's car, and Hotch looked at his brother in law.

"I overheard you and Gideon on the jet, and I agree with what he said." said Hotch.

"I know, but at least Clarissa's going to help me get through doing my first kill shot." said Spencer as his phone vibrated and he shook his head at  
Clarissa's text message.

JASON TOLD ME WHAT HAPPENED, SO EXPECT ME TO TEND TO YOUR INJURIES. PLEASE BRING AARON INSIDE BECAUSE I HAVE A FEW CHOICE WORDS FOR HIM SINCE JASON TOLD ME WHAT MY BROTHER DID TO YOU. ~ CR

Spencer slightly smirked at his brother in law.

"Your sister's angry at you right now, and we both know how scary she gets when she's angry." said Spencer.

"I figured she would be angry since I had to kick my brother-in-law." said Hotch.

"You did what you had to do to get us and other patients out there alive, and despite having it bad in high school until uncle Gordon took action, I know that all the bullying I went through helped me gain a thicker skin." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer, Hotch, and Clarissa were in the Reid family living room with Clarissa holding an ice pack to Spencer's face.

"Shirt off now, and while I give you a once over I want you to tell me everything that was said in the ER while holding this ice pack to your face." ordered Clarissa before glaring at her brother, "You stay put because I will deal with you after I tend to my husband." ordered Clarissa before she glared at her husband to follow her orders as she snapped on hospital grade latex free gloves.

As soon as Spencer had his sweater vest and dress shirt off, Hotch visibly winced when he saw the bruises that were already forming on Spencer's abdomen, and listened to Spencer telling Clarissa everything as she used her nursing skills to check for internal bleeding and broken ribs, and when Clarissa was done she looked at her husband.

"You can put your shirt back on." said Clarissa.

"So what's the prognosis?" asked Spencer.

"No internal bleeding, and luckily my brother avoided your ribs." said Clarissa before kissing her husband's forehead, "To help with the soreness you're going to be dealing with, go upstairs and get an Epsom salt bath ready, and as soon as I'm done dealing with my brother, I will be joining  
you upstairs." said Clarissa.

"Yes ma'am." said Spencer as he got up and headed upstairs.

As soon as Clarissa heard the master bedroom door shut, she looked at her brother as she gave him a rare slap.

"I don't care if you did what you had to do to save both of your asses along with everyone else in the ER, but with what you said and did to my husband, I don't ever want you to do that again since we both know how rough high school was for Spence until his uncle took action." said Clarissa as she glared at her brother.

"I promise." said Hotch before looking at Clarissa, "Spencer has the rest of the week off, and Gideon and I told them to leave Spencer be since Gideon told them that he was taking Spencer to his apartment."

"Good to know." said Clarissa before smiling at her brother, "You should go check on Haley, and since I told her about what you did to Spencer, be prepared for the tongue lashing that she's going to give you since she practically adopted Spencer." said Clarissa as she gave her brother a kiss on the cheek.

A few minutes later Hotch was pulling out of the driveway while Clarissa was joining her husband in their claw foot bath tub where they took an Epsom salt bath together before heading to bed themselves.

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two hours later Clarissa woke up to vomiting in the bathroom, causing her to join her husband in the bathroom and rubbed his back before she hugged him as he sobbed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two days later Spencer was picking out a new pair of glasses for the stronger prescription that was prescribed. Xxxxxxxx The next afternoon Spencer was at a firing range in DC firing his revolver at a target, and when he saw his results he smiled when he saw that his vision was a huge reason why he failed and how Hotch's advice helped him out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Whew (Wipes imaginary sweat off my forehead). This chapter has been the longest chapter for this story yet, but with LDSK being a Reidcentric episode I knew that this one would be a long one since I wanted to have LDSK in one chapter.


	22. The Fox

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts the day after the last chapter, so Jack finally makes his appearance!

Spencer and Clarissa entered Haley's hospital room with Diana on Spencer's hip.

"How are you feeling, Haley?" asked Clarissa as she grinned at the sight of her nephew in her sister in law's arms.

"I'm glad that I'm no longer pregnant, and please set Diana beside me." said Haley.

Spencer settled his daughter next to Haley in bed, and a minute later Clarissa was holding her nephew.

"Jack's beautiful." smiled Clarissa as she looked down at her nephew.

"He is, but be prepared for a comment that will shock you when you bring him to the BAU." said Spencer as he smiled at his nephew.

Haley snorted.

"I'll be waiting for that comment, but how about you take a turn to hold your nephew." said Haley.

Spencer gently took his nephew from his wife and smiled at the baby boy who was staring at him while thinking back to when Diana was born.

"Hey there, Jack. I'm your uncle Spencer. Along with your daddy, you won't be seeing me every day since your daddy is my boss, but you will have a lot of fun with your auntie Clarissa and your cousin Diana who's over 22 months older than you. When you're older, you will have lots of adventures with your cousin and I." said Spencer as he looked from the corner of his eye and saw tears streaming down Haley's and Clarissa's faces.

Haley looked at her sister-in-law.

"Your husband is so sweet." said Haley.

"His kisses always taste like sugar." said Clarissa as she smirked at her husband who was gently passing his nephew back to his mother.

Hotch entered his wife's hospital room with coffee for himself, and Clarissa hugged her oldest brother.

"Congrats big brother, and be prepared for Jack to be spoiled by Spencer and I since you spoiled Diana." said Clarissa as she watched her husband scoop up their sleeping daughter.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A week later Spencer was looking at his one-week-old nephew as he saw the wink that Haley gave him when JJ and Garcia weren't looking.

"He's so gorgeous." JJ.

"Thank you." smiled Haley as she saw her sister-in-law's husband, working hard to stay neutral at the sight of his nephew in his brother in law's arms.

"If you find baldness and wrinkles attractive." said Spencer awkwardly as he thought about how he was so going to get it later for making that type of comment about his nephew.

Garcia lightly slapped Spencer's chest.

"Look at his little witty bitty nose." cooed Garcia before looking at Morgan who was approaching them, "Don't you want one of these?"

"Mm. I'll stick to practicing." said Morgan, causing some chuckles.

Elle approached them, causing her to think about little Diana and how their current case was going to affect both Spencer and Hotch since they were parents.

"Congratulations." said Elle.

"Thanks." said Hotch.

"Thank you." said Haley.

"She's amazing. I'm a little terrified." said Hotch as he noticed that Spencer was working so hard to not take his nephew from him.

"Well, uh, we should get going." said Haley.

"Pleasure seeing you, Mrs. Hotchner." said Spencer as he thought about the possibility of Haley putting him on diaper duty for his comment about   
his nephew and calling her Mrs. Hotchner.

"Bye-bye." said Haley as she started to mentally think about how she could get back at the man who married her sister-in-law.

A few minutes later Spencer was in the conference room with his teammates, and he instantly thought about Diana and Jack when he saw pictures of kids on the bulletin board.

"Crawford family. Murdered 3 days ago." said Gideon.

"Saw it on the news." said Morgan.

"They were found in the basement of their house." said Gideon.

"Bags packed for a vacation they never took." said JJ.

"Report said it was a murder/suicide. Father stabbed the mom, then shot himself." said Morgan.

"That's the conclusion Maryland State police came to. The gun was found next to the father. Had gunpowder residue on his right hand." said JJ.

"And now you must have some compelling reason to think that Chris Crawford didn't off his family?" asked Morgan.

"Yeah. Another murdered family. The Millers-found a month ago. The mother Reese Miller, her 2 children, and her new husband." said JJ as Spencer looked at the picture of the Miller family, "Again, they were found in the basement and like the Crawfords, their suitcases were packed for a vacation."

"Both cases, the bodies were discovered five days after their vacations were supposed to have started." said Gideon.

"Yet the coroner determined that they had been dead only 24 hours." said JJ.

"So for four days, both families remained in the house." said Spencer.

"Location of the bodies, both cases, the basement. That indicates a level of organization." said Gideon.

"With a quick, but disorganized application of overpowering force." said Morgan.

"If these aren't murder/suicides someone's doing a damn good job of making them look like it." said Spencer as he realized that he was showing the personality that Clarissa brought out of him.

Gideon looked at Spencer and thought about how well Spencer was handling himself when it came to working cases that dealt with children while having a 22-month-old daughter and a week old nephew.

"Possibly this man-Eric Miller. Biological father of the Miller children. Arlington P. D. Issued a bolo for Miller after the bodies were discovered." said JJ.

"Ex-wife Reese Miller had a restraining order against him for domestic violence." said Gideon.

"When she get re-married?" asked Morgan.

"The week before they were killed." said JJ.

Morgan sighed.

"Violent husbands believe their wives and children are property. Reese Miller getting re-married possibly made him snap." said Morgan.

"Well, the Virginia cops finally located Eric Miller last night, responding to a drunken disturbance at a motel where Miller had been hiding out. When they found him they discovered blood on his black leather jacket. Belonged to his children." said JJ.

"Was any of his DNA found at the Crawford house?" asked Morgan.

"No." said Gideon.

"Did he know the Crawfords?" asked Spencer as he thought about how he had befriended a few of the fathers of some of Diana's playmates.

"If he does, he's not saying. In fact, he hasn't said a word since his arrest." said JJ as Spencer picked up a picture of Eric Miller and looked at it, "Uh, the Arlington P. D. have asked us to interview him."

Spencer let out a little whistle.

"If anyone could apply overwhelming force, he's your man." joked Spencer.

Gideon looked at Spencer.

"I want you to find out. Talk to him." said Gideon.

"You want me to talk to him?" stuttered Spencer.

"Yeah. You've done interviews before with other agents running point. You can go solo." said Gideon as he thought that with Spencer working in the BAU for over two years he would be ready for a solo before looking at Gideon, "Morgan, the Crawford house is a fresh crime scene."

A few minutes later Spencer was in the bathroom sending Clarissa a text message.

I HAVE A LOCAL CASE, AND I REALLY NEED DIANA TO SLEEP WITH US WHEN I COME HOME. ~ SR

xxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer entered the room where Eric Miller was being held, knowing that Hotch and Elle would be outside if he has any problems.

"I'm Dr. Spencer Reid from the FBI. I'd like to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind." said Spencer.

"Got something you wanna ask me, boy? You look me in the eye, and you ask." said Eric.

Spencer removed his messenger bag from around his shoulders before sitting down across from Eric.

"Three days ago-" said Spencer as he grabbed a file.

"You're not looking at me." said Eric.

Spencer looked at Eric.

"Three days ago, the Crawford family was murdered." said Spencer.

"Is that right?" asked Eric.

"Did you know them?" asked Spencer softly.

"What are you getting at?" asked Eric.

Spencer opened up the file.

"They were killed in the exact same way that your family was killed." said Spencer.

"And? I've been slapped around all night by every cop in Virginia. What makes you think a damn photo is gonna scare me?" asked Eric before slamming the table with his handcuffed hands, causing Spencer to jump a little bit before he noticed Eric's wedding band, "Is that what this is about, hmm? You think I'm crazy, man? You think I suddenly snapped and I slaughtered my own wife and kids? You think I did this? Huh?" asked Eric as he stood up causing the agent in the room to hold Eric down as Spencer stood up, "Is that what you think?" asked a shouting Eric.

Hotch and Elle burst into the room and Hotch looked at Eric sternly as two agents held Eric back.

"Mr. Miller, sit down, now." ordered Hotch.

Eric took one glance at Hotch.

"Is this your daddy?! I'm done talking to you people!" shouted Eric as Spencer thought about how he and Clarissa were going to laugh later when he tells Clarissa about what Eric said about Hotch.

"You don't have to talk. Just listen. On the occasions you assaulted your wife, you were intoxicated. Once the effects of alcohol wore off you were overcome by feelings of remorse." said Spencer.

"I'm gonna tell you this just one time. You shut your mouth!" shouted Eric.

"Genetic factors contribute to alcohol stress interactions. Your mother was an alcoholic and she was often too drunk to stop the beatings that your father gave you." said Spencer.

Elle noticed the rage that Eric was showing, causing her to look at Hotch.

"I think we should stop this." said Elle.

"He's not finished." said Hotch as he thought about how the interview was possibly going to get interesting.

"Age six, you were orphaned to a family where the abuse continued only this time, it was sexual." said Spencer as he thought about how he lost his parents at four-years-old but he wasn't abused by his aunt or uncle.

"You shut your mouth, or I'm gonna rip your face off." said Eric.

Spencer ignored Eric.

"The abuse continued well into puberty but my one concern is, Eric did you or did you not continue the cycle with your own children?" asked Spencer.

"I never laid a hand on my children. You hear me?!" shouted Eric.

"I hear you." said Spencer softly.

"I found them like that. Dead. Bloodied. My babies. My sweet, little babies." cried Eric as the agents who were holding him back helped him sit down, "I was crazy out of my mind. I didn't know what to do. And I knew the cops were gonna blame me, and they have."

"So you ran?" asked Spencer.

"So what have I got now?" asked Eric.

"You have your innocence. For the sake of your children I believe that they, at the very least, deserve the truth." said Spencer as he closed the file he had open so he could leave the room.

Before he could leave the room, Eric spoke up.

"I can't get...the image of my dead children out of my mind. Ty, my little boy he was clutching a...a piece of paper. I think it was a drawing. May-maybe a painting. Please. I'd love to know what he painted, Dr. Reid." said Eric.

Spencer nodded before leaving the room, and a minute later Elle was looking at him.

"Interesting interrogation technique. What did you hope to accomplish?" asked Elle as she thought about Spencer's interrogation making Eric Miller cry.

"Well, he was closed off, defensive, hostile. I needed a way in. He's suffered a breakdown but I don't think he killed his family and I know he still loved his wife." said Spencer as he thought about the wedding band that was on a chain around his neck.

"Why do you say that?" asked Hotch.

"Even though they were divorced, he still wore the wedding ring." said Spencer and looked around his surroundings before looking at his brother in law and whispered, "You do know that your sister is going to never let you live it down when I tell her that I was asked if you were my daddy."

Elle, who heard what Spencer told Hotch, burst out laughing as she realized that she was seeing the side of Spencer that Clarissa brought out.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer entered the house to hear Clarissa shouting and the sound of Diana giggling upstairs.

"Get back here Diana!" shouted Clarissa.

Spencer quickly put his gun into the safe, rushed upstairs and held back his laughter when he saw Clarissa running after his 22-month-old daughter who was streaking upstairs.

"Someone doesn't want you to give her a bath?" asked Spencer.

Diana stopped running when she saw her daddy standing by the baby gate that was at the top of the stairs.

"Daddy!" squealed Diana.

Spencer took down the baby gate and after putting the gate back up, he was scooping up his daughter before looking at his wife.

"You go relax while I give our little streaker her bath." said Spencer as he carried his daughter to the bathroom.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"You do know that Haley's going to get you for bringing up baldness and wrinkles while calling her Mrs. Hotchner at the BAU." said Clarissa.

Spencer grinned at his wife.

"I know, and I bet the worse she will do is have me on diaper duty for Jack." said Spencer.

"Ack?" asked Diana as she looked around for her cousin.

"He's at uncle Aaron's and aunt Haley's right now baby girl, and this weekend it's been planned that we have dinner with them." said Spencer.

"Go give Diana her bath, and I will work on heating up leftovers for you." said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer was filling up the bathtub, and a few minutes later Diana was happily playing with her toys in the tub before her daddy focused on getting her clean.

xxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was sitting at the round table with his teammates.

"I believe the unsub had control of this family. He may have separated each family member. Tells the mother, "if you scream, I'll kill your children." Tells the children, "if you cry, I'll kill mommy." The suspect found a way of restraining them without leaving marks. Based on levidity... The M. E. estimates that the father was the last to die." said Gideon.

"Which means he witnessed the whole thing. If he did spend time with both families, he must have known he had the time to spend with 'em." said Morgan.

"'Cause he knew they were goin' on vacation." said Spencer as he thought about when he, Clarissa, and Diana go on vacation it's either to go to Las Vegas to visit his adoptive aunt, camping, or to New Haven around the anniversary of the deaths of his aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon.

"Look at travel agents, relatives, work colleagues contract workers, children's tutors." said Gideon just as Hotch's voice came through the desk phone.

"Gideon, we've been looking into the Crawford financials." said Hotch.

"Allison Crawford spent way more money than Chris could afford. They were in major debt." said Garcia.

"And Chris Crawford wrote a number of checks for a series of visits to a therapist." said Hotch.

"She had 2 cell phone accounts... One of them billed to a separate address in southeast Washington, DC." said Garcia causing the others to write down what she mentioned.

"You get that?" asked Hotch.

xxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was entering a house with Hotch, Gideon, Morgan, and Elle and Elle kicked aside a water bowl.

"That's the cleanest thing in here." said Elle before she and Spencer saw Gideon removing a painted picture from the wall, "What's that?" asked Elle.

"It's a child's painting. It's a colonial house. Mom, dad, 2 children out front holding' hands." said Gideon.

"And a big dog." said Elle as Spencer approached them.

"I think it's the Crawford house. It's signed by Emily." said Gideon.

"Strange. Eric Miller said he found his son clutching a painting. He wanted to know what was on it." said Spencer.

"What was on it?" asked Elle.

"His son's blood." said Gideon before they heard something shatter, causing them to go investigate before a dog's owner whistled, "Freeze!" shouted Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that night, Spencer was sitting at the conference room table.

"Both families had a dog. And both houses had a dog door." said Morgan.

"Fielding said that the person he saw was small." said Morgan.

"Yeah, well, in order to get through that door you'd have to be 5'4", tops, and real thin." said Morgan.

""When you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."" recited Gideon.

"Sherlock Holmes was a fictional character. Whoever did this isn't. We can be pretty sure he's probably found himself another family by now." said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was sitting at his desk with Elle and Morgan.

"OK. No, I understand. Yeah. I figured as much. Thank you." said Morgan.

Elle who was watching Gideon stare at a board spoke up.

"He's been looking at those pictures all morning." said Elle.

"Well, I sure hope he sees a connection 'cause I've checked doctors, lawyers, travel agents, tutors contract workers. I got nothin'." said Morgan.

"Why target those families?" asked Elle.

"Well, to know that, we have to know how." said Hotch as he continued to read the file that he was holding.

"We know organized killers are often skilled workers with above-average intelligence. High birth status. And in most cases...male. In the workplace, he's socially confident. And with women...sexually confident. Every offense...is preplanned. Targeting the victim is almost as pleasurable as the actual kill. These guys, they're...they're meticulous. It's a compulsion. Everything has to have its proper place. They do exhaustive amounts of research on their victims. They watch their every move, every last detail is observed. Everything has to be written ever so neatly in a book, or possibly a journal. When the kids are coming home from school. When daddy will be home. Playtime. Suppertime. Bath time. Bedtime. Plan the work...work the plan. This is the way that he maintains control. It's also how he personalizes his target... So nothing's left to chance. Absolutely nothing... Is left out of place, ever. So he plans the work... And when he's good and ready, he works that plan. He takes great pride in his job. I think the workplace has to be the connection." said Morgan as Gideon approached them.

"Both are by Emily, painted months apart. This one...is full of color, life. The one I found at Emily's house has lines, dimensions. No color. I believe   
Emily was coerced to paint this. It's a point of view. It is HIS point of view. This is where the killer stood, just watched the family." said Gideon as Hotch removed his wedding band and allowed it to twirl on a desk causing Spencer, Morgan, Elle, and Gideon to look at him.

"Each of the dead husbands was missing his wedding ring. This is the unsub's trophy. He targets a family because he lost his own. For a few days, he gets to play daddy." said Hotch.

"And he can do whatever he wants because no one's gonna come looking because they're supposed to be on vacation." said Morgan.

"Let's get forensics to check the inside of Chris Crawford's clothing. The suspect may have worn the father's clothes to... Whew! Complete the fantasy." said Gideon.

"So, why kill them?" asked Elle.

"'Cause the fantasy can't last." said Gideon.

"Do we know anything that actually helps us identify this bastard?" asked Elle as she thought about Spencer's daughter and baby Jack.

"Wait a minute." said Morgan as he grabbed a file, "Chris Crawford worked for the I.R.S. And... Reese Miller was a secretary at the GAO." said Morgan.

"That makes them both government employees." said Elle.

"Let's check out Chris Crawford and Reese Miller." said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer was helping Garcia in her lair.

"We gotta stop meeting like this, Reid. People will talk. But then talk is cheap." said Garcia.

Spencer who was looking at one of Garcia's screens spoke up.

"Not when you're talking to a therapist." said Spencer as he thought about all the times he went to therapy when he was four, 12, and 19 before continuing, "The Crawfords made 12 weekly payments to the Applewood family medical center. What about the Millers?"

"No. Nothin' here." said Garcia.

"How about pharmaceuticals? Nobody gets therapy these days without a healthy dose of medication." said Spencer as he thought about the times he had to take medication while attending therapy.

"What are you implying, Reid?" asked Garcia.

"That everyone is medicated." said Spencer.

A shocked Garcia looked up at Spencer.

"Did you just make a joke?" asked Garcia as she thought about how Spencer, Gideon, and Hotch were always the most serious on the team unless Spencer decides to play a prank on Morgan.

"No. I meant statistics. They-they show that- -" stuttered Spencer.

"Reid, next time, just say yes. Now, medication normally requires reimbursement from the HMO and since she works for the government like you and I we share the same health care provider." said Garcia as she started typing.

"Are you hacking into the government's HMO database? Is that legal?" asked Spencer.

"'Course not. We'll go to prison, and you'll be someone's bitch." joked Garcia.

"Really?" asked Spencer as he thought about that he didn't want to miss out on watching Diana and his nephew grow up.

"Oh. Right there. Good call, Reid. Mrs. Reese Miller, diazepam." said Garcia.

"Who prescribed the meds?" asked Spencer.

"Dr. R. Howard at the Applewood family center. Let's find out what he looks like. Here we go." said Garcia.

Spencer raised his eyebrows at a picture of a woman.

"Dr. Howard isn't a he." said Garcia before Spencer contacted Hotch.

As soon as Spencer put his phone away, Garcia looked at Spencer.

"Since we're alone, are you going to tell me why you aren't returning JJ's crush on you?" asked Garcia.

"I don't have a crush on JJ because I consider her a big sister." said Spencer.

"And you're afraid to tell her that?" asked Garcia.

"Yeah, and please don't tell her." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer looked sadly at the wedding bands that Gideon dumped onto the conference room table, making everyone realize that there were victims that they didn't know of. After Spencer completed his paperwork he was in Hotch's car when Spencer looked down at his phone and saw a new text message from Clarissa.

DIANA AND I ARE WITH HALEY AND JACK RIGHT NOW AT MY BROTHER'S HOUSE, SO COME OVER TO AARON'S INSTEAD OF GOING STRAIGHT HOME. ~ CR

"Clarissa said that we need to go to your house since she and Diana are there right now." said Spencer.

"OK." said Hotch.

Spencer looked at his brother in law.

"At least Karl Arnold is off the streets, and he will be no longer killing any families." said Spencer.

"I know, but I wish that we had a chance to know about the six other families that got killed before we were called in about the Millers and the Crawfords." said Hotch.

"I understand, and I'm planning on keeping Diana close to me tonight." said Spencer.

"I'm thinking about doing the same with Jack." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer grinned when he scooped up his daughter and kissed her on the cheek.

"Have you been a good girl today?" asked Spencer.

Diana nodded as her shoulder length brown curls bounced before Hotch took his niece from Spencer.

"Hey there, Diana." said Hotch as he hugged his niece before giving Diana a kiss on the cheek.

"Hi unca Aaron." said Diana.

Haley came down the stairs with Jack, just as Clarissa, who was still in her uniform entered the living room.

"Dinner will be done in 10 minutes." said Clarissa as she made her way over to her husband and pecked him on the lips before kissing her oldest brother on the cheek.

Haley looked at Spencer.

"Due to what you said about your nephew at the BAU and calling me Mrs. Hotchner, you're on diaper duty this evening until you, Clarissa, and Diana go home." smirked Haley.

Spencer rolled his eyes before sticking out his tongue at Haley, causing a laughing Clarissa to lightly slap her husband on the chest before Spencer playfully pulled her ponytail.

"You two play nice." said Hotch.

Spencer and Clarissa looked at each other as they thought about the conversation they had the night before.

"Yes daddy." said Spencer and Clarissa in unison.


	23. Derailed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At first I wasn't planning on doing Derailed, but with Spencer's adoptive aunt Elena and having Spencer deal with the wrath of Clarissa (Hotch would tell his sister about what Spencer did, but Clarissa would never smack her husband), I decided on doing Derailed since I decided that Spencer should tell Elle, JJ, and Morgan about his adoptive aunt.
> 
> Little Diana's now 23 months old!

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"I have our bags packed for New Haven, so as soon as we get off of work on Wednesday we're hitting the road." said Clarissa.

"OK." said Spencer before looking at his wife, "Are you OK with us missing our nephew's first Thanksgiving since we accepted the invitation to spend it with uncle Gordon's former squad?"

"It's the five year anniversary of your aunt and uncle's deaths, and you were requested to cut the ribbon for the memorial bench that's been built in honor of your uncle." said Clarissa.

"Are you also OK with us celebrating the five year anniversary of the day we met and our three year wedding anniversary a couple of days early?" asked Spencer.

"I start working third shift next week Sunday, so I thought that we should celebrate during our long weekend." said Clarissa.

Diana looked at her nanny who was cutting up a pancake for her.

"You go wit?" asked Diana.

"I'm coming with you three because we get to spend time together while mommy and daddy celebrate their anniversary." said Lucy before adding another cranberry pancake to Spencer's and Clarissa's plates.

"Yay." said Diana as she clapped her hands, causing maple syrup covered hands to stick together, "I ticky." said Diana as she made a disgusted face, causing all three adults to laugh.

Spencer got up and grabbed a wipe and started cleaning up the 23-month-old toddler's hands.

"Then let's get your hands cleaned up, but next time use your fork." said Spencer as he made sure that Diana's hands were clean before handing his daughter her training fork.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

An hour and a half later Morgan looked at Spencer who was working on their consults.

"So what plans do you have for Thanksgiving this year?" asked Morgan.

"I'm going to New Haven like I always do, and this Monday will be the five year anniversary of aunt Ethel's and uncle Gordon's deaths." said Spencer.

"I'm sorry, man." said Morgan.

Spencer looked at the man who became a big brother to him.

"Thanksgiving is always one of the days that I miss them because Thanksgiving was the last holiday I spent with them since they died five days later." said Spencer as he looked at the picture of him, aunt, Ethel, and uncle Gordon that was taken during their last Thanksgiving together.

xxxxxxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer walked into the conference room as JJ briefed him, Hotch, and Morgan.

"Okay, this is from one of the security cameras inside the train. 5 hostages in a car stopped on the tracks. We have one security guard dead from the initial gun fire." said JJ.

"Is this going on right now?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah, in west Texas." said JJ.

"Why are they asking for us?" asked Morgan.

"There is a particular psychological aspect of the hostage taker, which we're especially equipped to handle." said Hotch.

Spencer looked at the footage and recognized what his adoptive aunt goes through on her medication.

"Can you back the picture up a few frames?" asked Spencer.

JJ followed Spencer's request, causing Spencer to move closer to the screen and squint a bit allowing him to see the same faces that his aunt made when it came to her medication.

"Tardive dyskinesia." said Spencer.

"Once more for those of us without an encyclopedic memory?" asked Morgan.

Spencer turned himself slightly to look at Hotch, JJ, and Morgan.

"Several facial tics. The kind that develop after years of taking anti-psychotic medication." said Spencer.

"So this guy is psychotic." said Morgan.

"Psychotic with hostages." said Hotch.

"And two guns." said JJ just as Gideon entered the room.

"Hostage situation on the train?" asked Gideon.

"Yeah, in Texas." said JJ.

Gideon headed closer to the screen.

"The train in Texas." said Gideon causing him to think about the phone call he had with Elle right before he recognized her on the screen, "My God!"

"What?" asked Morgan.

"Elle!" said Gideon.

"Elle?" asked Morgan causing him, Spencer, and JJ to look at the screen to see a bloodied Elle.

A few minutes later Spencer was firing a quick text to Clarissa as he made a quick stop in the restroom before heading to the jet.

HEADING TO TEXAS FOR A HOSTAGE SITUATION ON THE TRAIN, SO IF EVERYTHING GETS RESOLVED IN A GOOD WAY QUICKLY WE CAN STILL MAKE IT TO NEW HAVEN FOR THANKSGIVING ON WEDNESDAY. ~ SR

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Less than two hours later Spencer was sitting on the left side in the back seat of an SUV with JJ and Gideon.

"Local authorities have the train surrounded. Bureau, hostage rescue teams and snipers are in position. But they are hesitant to take actions until   
the negotiation is exhausted. The feeds from the train's two video cameras are being routed to monitors in a mobile command center that the local bureau office brought in." said JJ from her place in the middle seat.

"We need to know who on that train is going to be a help and who's gonna be a problem." said Hotch.

"All right, let me get Garcia to work some magic on those video feeds." said Morgan as he called Garcia causing Spencer, Hotch, JJ, and Gideon to listen to Morgan's side of the conversation before hanging up, "She'll get us the names." said Morgan as he looked at Hotch who was driving.

Gideon who was on the opposite side of JJ looked at JJ.

"Do we have any contact inside the train yet?" asked Gideon.

"No. It took two hours just to convince him to allow a two-way the phone. But he won't speak to anyone except what he calls the higher authorities." said JJ.

"God?" asked Hotch.

"No mention of religion thus far." said JJ.

"Has crisis negotiation's lead claimed to be the higher authority?" asked Hotch.

"The unsub won't speak to him any longer. He gave a deadline of three hours to produce this authority." said JJ.

"Three hours. When was that?" asked Spencer.

"Um...2 1/2 hours ago." said JJ.

"Well, he wants to speak to the higher authority." said Hotch.

"Then we better give it to him. Put the lights on, sirens, honk the horns, make people get out of our away." said Gideon as Hotch turned on the sirens, "Get as close to the barricade as possible. When we stop, we sit. We wait 30 seconds. Then we step out." instructed Gideon.

A few minutes later the SUV stopped, and after sitting for a minute, Spencer got out of the SUV with his teammates.

"Don't look at the train. Ignore it. The higher authority isn't concerned about losing a few civilians." instructed Gideon.

"I'll talk to the HRT commander." said Hotch as an agent approached them.

"I'm Frank Moretti, Dallas field office." said Agent Moretti.

"Hi." said Gideon as Agent Moretti shook hands with Morgan.

"Near as we can tell, your agent is still all right." said Agent Moretti.

"Has the subject asked for anything, made any demands?" asked Gideon.

"Not beyond wanting to talk to a higher authority. How do we negotiate with a psychotic who won't talk to us?" asked Agent Moretti.

"That depends on the level of his particular delusion." said Gideon.

"Some psychotics believe they're being sent messages by the government, God, even aliens. John Nash, he believed he was being recruited by aliens to save the world." said Spencer as he thought about how Clarissa took him to see "A Beautiful Mind" as one of her Christmas presents for him in 2001.

"I saw the movie." said Agent Moretti.

Spencer shook his head.

"Actually, the movie is rather inaccurate in its portrayal of-" said Spencer.

Morgan placed a hand on Spencer's shoulder.

"Ok, doc, doc, doc a movie review is not gonna help us right now. Let's move." said Morgan.

"You're right. Sorry." said Spencer before walking away.

A minute later Spencer was in the mobile command center.

"His delusions are important because that's what we have to play to." said Gideon.

"So the question of the day..." said Morgan.

"What does he believe is happening here?" asked Gideon.

"Good luck. I tried to convince him I was the highest authority but he wouldn't believe me." said Agent Moretti.

"Well, he's paranoid. He believes in secrets. If I'm the higher authority, I don't go to him. He comes to me. We have to help him ask the first question." said Gideon as Spencer looked closer to the screen.

"Hey, guys." said Spencer as they watched their hostage taker grab one of the women by the hair, causing them to watch the commotion on the train.

"Easy does it." said Gideon as they watched their hostage taker drag a woman to the phone that was put onto the train before the phone rang causing him to answer it, "Yes?" asked Gideon.

"He wants to know who you are." whispered their hostage taker.

"He wants to know who just arrived." cried the young female.

"Tell him it's someone who can help resolve the situation." said Gideon.

"What part of the government do you work for?" asked the woman.

"I never said I was with the government." said Gideon before Agent Moretti looked like he was about to protest.

"Wait." said Morgan as he pressed mute, "The less he says, the more mysterious, we seem the higher an authority we become."

"What part of-aah! What part of the government..." cried the woman before she was finally able to speak, "Are you FBI?" asked the woman.

"He can ask me himself." said Gideon.

"He says you can ask him yourself." said the woman before the hostage taker took the phone.

"Tell me who you are, or this agent dies!" shouted the hostage taker.

"You know who I am." answered Gideon.

"If you're the higher authority then you can have it removed." said the hostage taker.

"That'll take some time." said Gideon.

"I want it removed now." demanded the hostage taker.

"You know... You know it can't be done that quickly. Good-bye." said Gideon before reaching towards the end call button.

"No! Wait! OK. All right. One hour. You have one hour to remove it or I swear to God, I'll kill every agent on this train." said the hostage taker before hanging up.

"It? He wants it removed? Do you know what it is?" asked Agent Moretti.

"No. We just bought an hour, though, to figure it out." said Gideon

xxxxxxx

20 minutes later Agent Moretti was tapping his pen on a notepad.

"We have 40 minutes left." said Agent Moretti.

Hotch looked at Spencer as he thought about Clarissa telling him about the times she got to meet Spencer's adoptive aunt.

"Reid, is there a delusion more common than others to a paranoid mind in a psychotic episode?" asked Hotch.

"Delusions are as varied as the people that have them. They're colored by personal experience." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Gideon noticed a woman checking the hostage taker's arm, causing him to see scars.

"His arm." said Gideon.

"What?" asked Hotch.

"Look at his arm." said Gideon.

Spencer, Hotch, and Morgan looked at the screen.

"What is that?" asked Spencer.

"They look like scars." said Morgan.

"The places he tried to dig it out with a razor or a pen." said Gideon.

"Dig what out?" asked Agent Moretti.

"Maybe a microchip?" asked Hotch.

"Oh, man. It's almost as common a delusion as claiming to be the new Messiah. Ralph Tortorici held an entire classroom hostage because he believed microchips had been implanted in his body." said Spencer.

"Wait a minute. This guy thinks he has some kind of device stuck in his arm?" asked Morgan.

Spencer nodded.

"Probably, and if we don't take it out, he's gonna kill somebody." said Gideon as Morgan's phone rang, causing him to walk away and answer the call before coming back a few minutes later having everyone gather around him by a laptop.

"Tell me about the hostages." said Gideon.

"OK. Let's see. First we've got Harry Anderson. He's a paper goods salesman. Lived in a small home just outside of Dallas for 18 years with his wife. He's got no children, no investments, no company retirement portfolio." said Morgan.

"He doesn't take chances. So, what about the kid?" asked Gideon.

"Kid's name-Josh Patel. He's 20 years old. He just got expelled from Gillett university for driving his car into the library building drunk." said Morgan.

Gideon thought about the live feed.

"He's drinking now, and we don't need a drunk in there." said Gideon.

"OK. The girl- we don't have a lot to go on. Nothing more than her driver's license. Her name's Elaine Curtis. She lives in a small town in west Texas. She's got no credit cards, no passport. Doesn't look like she travels much at all. This is Dr. Linda Deaton. She's a psychiatrist at Stokes Mental Health Center in El Paso. That's where Ted Bryar's been living for the last 9 years." said Morgan.

"His doctor?" asked Gideon.

"I say probably. She's unmarried, lives in El Paso. She's written several books and papers, mainly published in medical circles. She's a popular lecturer. She's scheduled to speak at several symposiums this year and tonight in Dallas. That's it. That's all I got. Garcia's in the process of looking deeper but I don't really see how this lineup's gonna be much of a help to us, Gideon." said Morgan.

"Well, let's just hope none of them makes the situation worse." said Gideon.

A few minutes later both Spencer and Hotch were pacing in the mobile command center.

"All right, how do we remove a microchip that's not there?" asked Hotch.

"His speech is lucid. There's no sign of neologisms, word salad, or loosening of associations. As long as he can systemize he'll be able to keep his thinking relatively organized." said Spencer.

"Organized enough to see through any game we try to throw at him?" asked Morgan.

"And if he's convinced it's in his arm and not in a place like his lower back or his neck..." said Hotch.

"An incision means he's gonna be watching." said Gideon.

"Maybe we can just convince him that he's been looking in the wrong place." said Morgan.

Spencer looked at his teammates.

"Or we could fake it." said Spencer causing Hotch, Gideon, and Morgan to look at him, "Conceal a chip in the palm, a little sleight of hand." said Spencer as he used a quarter to demonstrate.

"Oh, come on, Reid what are you talking about? A magic trick?" asked Morgan.

"Yeah, I'm talking about a magic trick." said Spencer as he thought about how he wooed Clarissa with his magic tricks.

"No." said Hotch as he thought about how he didn't want to put his brother-in-law in danger again.

Spencer looked at his brother in law.

"I used to do it during college exams." said Spencer as he demonstrated with his quarter again, "I can make it appear, I can make it disappear." said Spencer as he thought about the slight of hand trick he did when he proposed to Clarissa.

"We can't risk giving him another agent as a hostage." said Hotch as he thought about the possibility of Clarissa yelling at him again if he allowed Spencer to go with his plan.

"We have to do something." said Spencer as he decided to work his eyes on Hotch, causing Morgan to get up.

"All right, Reid. Let's go. Teach it to me." said Morgan.

Spencer looked at his quarter.

"What? No." said Spencer.

"Look, if you can do it, I can do it. Show it to me." said Morgan.

"I've been practicing this my whole life. We have less than 30 minutes." said Spencer.

"Reid, I am not about to let you get on that train with an armed psychotic." said Morgan.

"We don't have any other choice, do we?" asked Spencer.

"No. We don't have any other choice." said Gideon.

10 minutes later Morgan was helping Spencer put on his Kevlar vest while Spencer hoped that Morgan wouldn't find the chain around his neck.

"Reid, do not take this vest off. In hostage situations, S.W.A.T. sometimes won't even tell the negotiator when they're deciding to go in. Do you know why that is?" asked Morgan.

"'Cause the slightest change in tone of voice or choice of words can give the whole thing away." said Spencer.

Morgan patted Spencer on the shoulder.

"That's right. Don't make eye contact with Elle. You're a technician. You've never seen her before." said Morgan.

"Got it." said Spencer.

"Now remember, play into the guy's fantasy. Believe it yourself." said Morgan.

"Actually, did you know that dentists and surgeons have been recruited to secretly implant these during otherwise normal medical procedures? This has been happening on and off since the late 1930s." said Spencer as he thought about his aunt Elena telling him that to make him scared of going to the dentist before noticing Morgan's look, "You told me to believe." smiled Spencer.

"Heh heh! Let's go." said Morgan just as Hotch entered the mobile command enter.

"All right. One government-issued microchip." said Hotch as he thought about the times that Haley enjoyed Spencer's magic tricks as he showed Spencer a microchip from a phone.

A minute later Spencer was outside doing a quick test run while wearing latex free gloves and grimaced when he failed.

"You gotta relax, man." said Morgan.

"The chip's a lot smaller than I'm used to doing it with, all right." said Spencer as he tried again only to drop the chip.

"I'm pulling the plug on this." said Gideon.

"No, no, hold on. One more." said Spencer as he picked up the chip and blew it off before trying one more time, only to be successful.

"Take his chip out. Then get off the train. You understand?" asked Gideon.

Spencer nodded as Hotch watched him as Gideon continued talking.

"Tell him you need to get back to the higher authority. Say you have guidelines to follow, whatever. Do not stay in there with him. That's an order." said Gideon.

"Yes, sir." said Spencer before looking at his teammates, "Could you guys do me a favor?"

"Anything." said Morgan.

"Could at least one of you look like you're gonna see me again?" asked Spencer as he thought about how his question would relieve tension.

"See you when you get back." said Hotch as he thought about the earful that Spencer was possibly going to get from Clarissa.

Spencer laughed slightly before he started heading towards the train while thinking about the times that he had to talk down his aunt Elena, causing uncle Gordon to think that he would be a good hostage negotiator someday before he stepped onto the train causing him to look at Dr. Bryar who was holding a gun by Elaine's stomach, Harry, Linda, Josh, and Elle.

"That's far enough." said Ted.

"Hello, everyone. I'm here to remove a chip from Dr. Bryar." said Spencer.

"Take the vest off. I want to see you." said Dr. Bryar.

"I don't have any weapons. The higher authority doesn't authorize it for technicians." said Spencer.

"Take it off!" shouted Dr. Bryar.

Spencer quickly realized that he needed to listen to Dr. Bryar and deal with the consequences later as he removed his vest and earwig to prevent his teammates from listening in to him.

"Come closer." said Dr. Bryar causing Spencer to walk towards him with his hands up, "I want to see both of your hands at all times. Sit across from me."

Spencer sat down where Dr. Bryar instructed while Dr. Bryar released Elaine, allowing Spencer to start getting everything ready.

"Why are you so nervous?" asked Dr. Bryar.

Spencer thought that despite growing up in a household that contained a few guns because of his uncle, he ended up thinking about his first kill shot from a few weeks back.

"I told you. I'm not used to being around guns." said Spencer before using an alcohol wipe to clean Dr. Bryar's arm before grabbing the bag to grab a scalpel, "This is going to probably sting a little bit."

Spencer used the scalpel to cut Dr. Bryar's arm, and when he made an incision he did the slight of hand trick to pull out the microchip that Hotch gave him while Elle thought about asking Spencer to show her more magic tricks the next time she is invited over for dinner.

"Whoa. Did you see that?" asked Josh.

"I knew it. I knew it." said Dr. Bryar.

Spencer started to get up.

"I've got to go to the higher authority-" said Spencer.

"Not yet!" ordered Dr. Bryar.

Spencer stopped.

"OK." said Spencer as he sat back down.

"Turn it on. Turn the chip on." said Dr. Bryar as he pointed the gun at Spencer's stomach.

"Excuse me?" asked Spencer.

"Turn it on, or I pull the trigger." said Dr. Bryar.

"I can't turn it on." said Spencer.

"Why not? Why not!" asked Dr. Bryar.

Elle looked at the young man who has became a little brother to her and decided to help him out since she didn't want Diana to grow up without a father like she did when she was eight.

"Because it has to be implanted." said Elle.

Spencer shot Elle a quick, grateful look while thinking about what he should get her for Christmas.

"She's right. The chip derives its power from tiny electrical impulses fired between neurons. It has to be in your skin to work." said Spencer before trying to get up, "I- I really got to go-" stuttered Spencer.

"Sit down! You're not going anywhere." ordered Dr. Bryar.

Spencer realized that the skills he used to talk down aunt Elena would need to work.

"See? Dude actually had a chip in his arm." whispered Josh.

A minute later the phone rang, causing Spencer to look at Dr. Bryar.

"It's probably the higher authority. I told you I have protocols to follow. I was supposed to go right back out there. I-I have rules. Answer the phone. You want me to stay, I'm obviously going to stay but, I mean, you're going to be the one that has to explain it to the man." said Spencer.

"Why can't you all just leave me alone?" asked Dr. Bryar.

"Leave you alone?" asked Josh as he stood up.

Spencer glared at Josh.

"Stay out of this." hissed Spencer.

"No. The government does watch us. You got microwaves and satellites. I'm with you, man." said Josh.

Spencer glared at Josh again.

"Do not agitate him." hissed Spencer.

"Screw you." said Josh.

Spencer ignored Josh's words as the phone continued to ring.

"Dr. Bryar, answer the phone." pleaded Spencer.

"My old man used to have tracking devices in his cars. He said it was for theft but it's so he could find out where I'd go. And what about personal recordings and televisions? You don't think someone's monitoring everything you watch? You know how many patents are issued for devices to monitor people? Look it up, man." said Josh.

"Answer the phone, Ted." said Elle.

Dr. Bryar's doctor got up and grabbed Josh.

"Stop. This isn't going to help." said Linda.

"What the hell do you know?" asked Josh as he broke out of Dr. Deaton's grasp.

Linda turned around.

"Ted, he doesn't know what he's talking about. He's just a kid." said Linda.

"Who you calling a kid?" asked Josh.

Elle looked at Josh and glared as she thought about how Spencer was more mature than Josh was.

"Sit down." ordered Elle.

"Oh, now you're gonna tell me what to do? He'd only have one gun if you weren't here. I'm with you, man." said Josh.

"Answer the phone, Dr. Bryar. It's the higher authority." said Spencer as he felt sweat dripping off his forehead.

Dr. Bryar shot his gun at Josh, causing Linda to take the bullet.

"No!" shouted Linda as she felt the bullet hit her, "Teddy?" asked Linda.

"Oh, damn. Damn!" said Josh as he started applying pressure as he brought Linda to the floor and as soon as Dr. Bryar headed towards the phone, Spencer and Harry rushed towards Linda and started applying pressure as Spencer listened to Ted talk on the phone.

A few minutes later the phone rang again and Elle looked at Dr. Bryar as she thought about how much she wanted to get Spencer and other hostages off the train.

"Ted... No one on this train is an agent but me. No one else. I'm the only one. You can let everybody else go." said Elle.

After a few seconds, Spencer looked back at Dr. Bryar as he continued to apply pressure.

"Dr. Bryar, we need to get this woman help." said Spencer.

"Who's going to help me?" asked Dr. Bryar as he phone continued to ring.

"The higher authorities can help you. They're not what you think. They're not the enemy. They can help you, Dr. Bryar." said Spencer.

Dr. Bryar decided to shoot the phone that he was given.

"Not anymore." said Dr. Bryar before looking at the man he was imagining, "It's not gone."

Spencer looked towards Dr. Bryar as he thought about how aunt Elena would imagine someone during her episodes.

"Well, you just said when the chip came out, it would go away. I- I still hear it." said Dr. Bryar as he scratched his ear, "But you said it was the only one, Leo. I can still... Feel the buzzing, the burning."

"Dr. Bryar." said Spencer.

"What?" asked Dr. Bryar.

"Reid!" exclaimed Elle.

Spencer looked at Elle and gave her a look, telling her that he will explain later.

"It's all right, Elle." said Spencer.

Dr. Bryar stood up and pointed his gun at Spencer.

"Is there another one?" demanded Dr. Bryar.

"You know there isn't. If there were, Leo would've told you." said Spencer as calmly as he could.

"Make it stop!" shouted Dr. Bryar as he pressed his hands to his ears.

"I know what it's like..." said Spencer as he thought about his aunt Elena.

"Make it stop!" shouted Dr. Bryar as he started to point his gun at Spencer again.

"I know what the voices are like. The voices, they won't stop, they have been talking to you ever since you were a child." said Spencer.

"You're lying to me." said Dr. Bryar.

Spencer smiled a bit.

"That's Leo... That's not even Dr. Bryar." said Spencer before looking in the direction that Dr. Bryar looked at earlier, "Why don't you let him think for himself Leo."

"Yo-You can see him?" asked Dr. Bryar.

"Yeah, he's right there." said Spencer before looking at the empty spot again, "Why don't you let him make his own decisions? Voices... They helped you. Right? To get your ideas from..." said Spencer before standing up, "The other kids were outside on the playground you were inside reading, studying, learning... The voices wouldn't stop, they helped you understand things that other people could never realize. Then as you grow older it became... Oh.. Let's say responsibility. Right? Responsibility to use that ability to... ... to use your knowledge..." said Spencer as he knew that he was keeping Dr. Bryar calm.

"String theory. The Theory of everything." said Dr. Bryar.

"The m-theory encompassing all the strings unifying the theories. You know what's funny? Most people say that m- theory can never be proved because the mathematical tools do not yet exist. But you see it, right? Am I right? You can see the different strings unifying the dimensions, the gravitational infinities canceling each other out. You see them, right, Dr. Bryar? You see them because you have the tools. Your mind is that tool." said Spencer.

Dr. Bryar looked at his delusion.

"Shut up!" shouted Dr. Bryar.

"And I have to believe that if you put your mind to it you'll realize that only you can make Leo stop. You can make him stop by understanding him by understanding that he is a liar and he only wants bad things for you. I need to believe that, Dr. Bryar." said Spencer.

As soon as Dr. Bryar turned away, Elle took the opportunity to pounce on Dr. Bryar and as soon as Dr. Bryar was on the bench, Spencer started wresting for the gun until Harry used his gun to shoot Dr. Bryar, and as soon as Spencer got the gun out of Dr. Bryar's hands, Gideon came onto the train while Spencer looked at Harry.

"I had to. He was going to kill us. I had to. God forgive me." said Harry.

"We need an ambulance." Spencer looked at Gideon.

20 minutes later Spencer was sitting on an open trunk of a car with a bandaged up Elle trying to convince her to go to the hospital when Gideon approached him.

"Gideon, will you tell him that I don't need to go to the hospital?" asked Elle.

"Regulations are regulations. You're all right?" asked Gideon.

"Yeah, I'm fine, dad." said Elle.

"Elle?" asked Gideon.

"Yeah?" asked Elle.

"Don't ever call me dad again." said Gideon before walking away.

Elle looked at Spencer and thought about the father/son relationship that Spencer had with Gideon.

"What do you think he'd feel about mom?" asked Elle.

"Let me know when you're going to do that, so I can run." joked Spencer.

"Um, Reid, you probably saved my life in there." said Elle.

"Probably? I totally saved your life." laughed Spencer, causing Elle to laugh, "And I'm pretty certain that it was caught on tape." grinned Spencer.

"You know, what you said in there to Bryar? That you know what it's like?" asked Elle.

Spencer looked around his surroundings before looking at Elle when he decided to trust her with what he was going to tell her before he pulled a picture out of his wallet and showed a picture of him and aunt Ethel with aunt Elena on the grounds of Bennington Sanitarium.

"Aunt Ethel has a surviving sister who is institutionalized in Las Vegas for paranoid schizophrenia, and there were times that I had to play into my adoptive aunt's delusions to save myself if she was getting violent before she got committed when I was 10." said Spencer before smiling slightly, "Uncle Gordon used to joke that I would be a good hostage negotiator when he entered the house to see me talking aunt Elena out of trying to stab herself." said Spencer.

"So you have another reason why you joined the FBI." said Elle as she thought about what Spencer has gone through in his short life.

Spencer nodded as he patted Elle on the knee.

"Go to the hospital. I'll see you there, all right?" asked Spencer as he placed his hands into his pocket and walked away and a few seconds later he felt his personal cellphone vibrate, causing him to look at his phone to see a text from Clarissa.

AARON JUST TEXTED ME TO TELL ME WHAT YOU DID, SO WHEN YOU COME HOME TONIGHT BE PREPARED FOR MY RIOT ACT BEFORE WE HIT THE ROAD. ~ CR

Spencer shook his head before deleting the text and pocketed his phone just before a reporter hounded him, causing him to answer questions.

xxxxxxxxxx

A couple of hours later Spencer was flying home with his teammates when Morgan looked at Spencer who was sitting next to Elle as he connected Garcia to video chat with them on the laptop.

"I told you not to take your vest off kid." said Morgan before looking at Hotch and Gideon, "Why haven't you two lectured him about taking off his vest?"

Spencer looked at Hotch and Gideon who gave him reassuring nods since they knew about his adoptive aunt before he looked at Morgan and JJ.

"I have experience with talking down paranoid schizophrenics because aunt Ethel had a sister that's still alive, and after the last time I had to talk her down from trying to commit suicide, aunt Ethel had to make the choice to institutionalize her." said Spencer as he heard Garcia gasp.

"Where is she institutionalized?" asked Morgan.

"Las Vegas, and despite not being a blood relative I make sure that I can visit her whenever I can since I know that aunt Ethel would be proud of me for not abandoning her sister." said Spencer.

"She would be, Reid." said Garcia.

"So you went to visit her after your first case in Vegas?" asked Morgan.

Spencer nodded.

"I did visit her before visiting my parents graves." said Spencer before he decided to pull a quarter out of his pocket and do a few slight of hand tricks.

Morgan realized that Spencer was getting uncomfortable causing him to change the subject.

"So how did you learn those slight of hand tricks?" asked Morgan.

Spencer smiled slightly.

"Uncle Gordon loved doing magic tricks to calm down child victims, and after he took me to my first magic show, I begged him to teach me magic tricks so he ended up getting me my first magic trick for my fifth birthday." said Spencer as he pulled a quarter out of Elle's ear, causing some laughter.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

An hour and a half later, Hotch looked at Spencer as he pulled into the driveway.

"Text me to let me know that you're still alive after Clarissa yells at you." said Hotch.

"I promise, and as soon as Clarissa, Diana, Lucy, and I make it to New Haven I will call you." said Spencer before looking at Hotch, "Please tell Sean that I'm sorry that Clarissa and I are spending Thanksgiving in New Haven again, but with it being the five year anniversary I can't turn down uncle Gordon's former boss's offer." said Spencer.

"Haley, Sean, and I all understand, and you and Clarissa deserve to celebrate the five year anniversary of your first meeting in New Haven." said Hotch.

"We're celebrating our anniversary this weekend because Sunday night, Clarissa's working third shift all of next week." said Spencer before unbuckling himself.

A minute later Spencer was putting his gun into the safe, and as soon as he entered the living room, he saw Clarissa sitting on the couch.

"I can't believe that you would take off your vest." said Clarissa as she started yelling at her husband about what could have happened to him while being afraid to lose him.

As soon as Clarissa was done lecturing her husband, Spencer looked at his wife.

"I'm sorry, but I had to listen to Dr. Bryar before he would kill everyone on that train." said Spencer before looking at the clock and saw that it was 8 PM, "Where's Diana?"

"Lucy's upstairs giving her a bath before we hit the road, and I already put our bags into the SUV. So after you take a shower and change, we're hitting the road." said Clarissa just as Lucy came down the stairs with a pajama clad Diana on her hip.

"Daddy!" exclaimed Diana.

A minute later Spencer was hugging and kissing Diana, and a few minutes later he was taking a quick shower before he, Clarissa, Lucy, and Diana piled into Clarissa's SUV for their over five hour long drive to New Haven.


	24. Anniversary and The Popular Kids

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When it comes to Spencer being married to his unit chief's baby sister, you guys can probably imagine Hotch finding out about Spencer's nightmares before Morgan approaches him since Clarissa's very close to her oldest brother who will act like her oldest brother and a father to her.

Spencer and Clarissa looked at Diana.

"We will see you tomorrow, baby girl." said Spencer as he saddened at the thought about his daughter turning two in less than a month.

"You go bye bye?" asked Diana as she took in the sight of her parents dressed up.

"Daddy and I are celebrating our five year anniversary of friendship and our three year wedding anniversary." said Clarissa.

"OK mommy." said Diana.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The waitress smiled at the young couple who was sitting at a table that contained a vase that held five yellow roses and three red roses.

"What's with those roses?" asked the waitress.

"We're celebrating our five year anniversary of the day we became friends and our three year wedding anniversary a bit early because I work third shift on the day of our anniversary and my husband might be out of town for work." said Clarissa.

"When's your anniversary?" asked the waitress.

"November 30th of 2000 was the day we met, and we married two years later on November 30th." said Clarissa.

"Always romantic to marry on the day you met." said the waitress.

"We know." smiled Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxx

As soon as they entered their hotel room, Spencer looked at his best friend and wife.

"We might as well open our anniversary gifts." said Spencer as he thought about how he grabbed his anniversary gifts for Clarissa before they hit the road.

"We should because I have plans for you, Dr. Reid." said Clarissa as she grabbed the gifts from an additional suitcase that she hidden.

"Really Nurse Reid?" asked Spencer as he grabbed his gifts from the suitcase he hidden.

A minute later Spencer was smiling over his new wooden watch that had a leather wrist band.

"I thought that I would combine your leather and wooden gift together." said Clarissa.

"It's perfect." said Spencer as he kissed his wife before passing her a wrapped up gift.

A minute later Clarissa was smiling over new leather boots.

"How did you know that I wanted to get these?" asked Clarissa.

"Haley told me that you wanted these." said Spencer before he watched Clarissa open up her second gift.

Clarissa gasped when she saw a copy of the picture that her brother insisted on taking of her and Spencer together at the diner where they joined her brother painted onto a block of wood.

"Our very first picture of us together." said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Spencer and Clarissa were undressing themselves before falling onto their hotel bed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two nights later at midnight, Spencer woke up gasping and covered in sweat, and a few minutes later he was stripping the sweat soaked sheets and putting on new sheets before hopping in the shower. After drying his hair completely, he heard coughing and sniffling from the baby monitor causing him to head to Diana's nursery where Diana was awake.

"What's wrong baby girl?" asked Spencer as he lowered the crib and scooped up his baby girl.

"I sicky." said Diana as she clutched her ears.

Spencer kissed Diana's forehead and noticed that she was warm.

"Well let's go take your temperature before I start making you all better." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer grimaced when he saw that Diana had a slight fever of 99 degrees while she still continued to clutch her ears, causing Spencer to look at Diana's ears and grimace at the discharge.

"Let me get dressed so I can take you to get your ears checked out." said Spencer.

"OK daddy." said Diana.

A few minutes later Spencer was calling Lucy to let her know that he was taking Diana to Children's National, and five minutes later he was taking a bundled up Diana to Children's National.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

15 minutes later Spencer was carrying Diana into the entrance of the ER where Clarissa was already waiting for them.

"Mommy." cried Diana.

"Lucy called me to tell me that you were on your way with Diana." said Clarissa before smiling sadly at her daughter as she thought about cold and flu season, "I hear that someone's not feeling good."

"I sicky mommy." said Diana before coughing.

"So let's go have my friend Bethany check you out." said Clarissa as she thought about protocol of her not being allowed to care for her daughter when she's brought into Children's National.

A minute later Dr. Bethany Lawrence and nurse Tina were looking over Diana while Spencer and Clarissa held hands as they watched their crying daughter get checked over.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer was leaving Children's National with Diana who was diagnosed with a slight cold and ear infection while carrying the antibiotics that he was given to give to Diana.

xxxxxxxxxx

Over eight hours later Hotch was looking through the file that was sent to him as his cellphone rang and he smiled when he saw that it was Clarissa.

"I thought that you were going to get some sleep?" asked Hotch.

"I am, but I really need you to talk to Spence because I'm worried about him." said Clarissa.

"I thought that he's dealing with the five year anniversary of the deaths of his aunt and uncle fine?" asked Hotch.

"He handled the anniversary fine since we talk about it, but he's dealing with nightmares every night." said Clarissa before taking a deep breath, "Even though Spence had to show up at Children's National with Diana who has a double ear infection last night, I ended up finding out that he had to change our sheets while finding a wet towel in our bathroom for the third morning in a row making me realize that he's dealing with really bad nightmares. I know that I needed to ask you to talk to him because when he's home and I'm not working third shift he doesn't have nightmares as often as he is right now."

Hotch sighed as he thought about how much having an eidetic memory can affect Spencer while being glad that his sister is there for Spencer to help him compartmentalize from their work.

"Thank you for letting me know Clarissa and please give my niece some kisses from her uncle Aaron. I will find time to talk to him, but that talk is going to wait since we're heading to McAllister, Virginia." said Hotch before telling his sister that he loves her and promised to stay safe before hanging up.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Meanwhile in the break area, Spencer was pouring a lot of sugar into his coffee while thinking about all the times that Clarissa gripes about his sugar habits when Morgan approached him.

"Easy there, tough guy. Have some coffee with your sugar." said Morgan.

"I need something to wake me up." said Spencer as he continued to pour sugar into his coffee.

"Ooh. Late night?" smiled Morgan.

"Very." said Spencer as he stirred his coffee while thinking about the nightmare he woke up to before hearing coughing and sniffles through Diana's baby monitor, causing him to take her to the emergency room due to a double ear infection.

"My man." smiled Morgan.

'I wish,' thought Spencer.

"Not that kind of late night." said Spencer.

"OK, so tell me, what does keep young Dr. Reid awake at night?" asked Morgan as Spencer took a sip of his coffee while Morgan placed a hand on his shoulder, "Wait, let me guess. Memorizing some obscure textbook. No, no, no, no. Working on cold fusion. No, I got it. Watching Star Trek... and laughing at the physics mistakes."

"Actually, there aren't that many scientific errors in Star Trek. Especially considering how long ago it was made. There are certain improbabilities, but not that many outright errors." said Spencer

"Right." said Morgan as he clapped Spencer on the shoulder and thought about how would Spencer ever get a girl while not realizing that Spencer already had a girl for five years.

Spencer looked at Morgan and thought about that he could confide in Morgan while not even realizing that Clarissa already called her brother.

"Hey, Morgan?" asked Spencer.

Morgan stopped walking and turned around.

"Uh, do you ever have dreams?" asked Spencer.

"I'm sorry?" asked Morgan.

"I guess nightmares would be a more accurate description." said Spencer.

"Is that what's keeping you up?" asked Morgan.

"I used to get them occasionally, but lately it's like I have them every night." said Spencer as he thought about not having nightmares when Clarissa's not working third shift.

"What are they about?" asked Morgan.

"My aunt and uncle since the anniversary of their deaths passed two days ago and this. What we do. Do you have nightmares?" asked Reid.

"Reid, I'm not sure if I'm the right person for you to talk to about this." said Morgan.

"Why not?" asked Spencer.

"It's just, uh... Did you ask Gideon about it?" asked Morgan.

"No." said Spencer.

"You should." said Morgan just as Elle came over to them.

"Hey, Hotch wants everyone in the round table room." said Elle before looking at the serious looks on Spencer's and Morgan's faces, "Something up with you two?"

"No." said Spencer before hurrying up the stairs.

A minute later Spencer was in the conference room with his team.

"McAllister. Western slope of Massanutten Mountain in Virginia. 2 bodies discovered in the woods both with apparent blunt trauma to the head." said JJ as Spencer looked at the photo.

"Skeletons?" asked Spencer.

"One of them. The second victim was just killed this morning." said JJ.

"How do we know there's a connection?" asked Elle.

"They were found about 75 feet apart with nearly identical head wounds." said Hotch.

"Where's the rest of the case file?" asked Morgan as he looked at the file.

"There isn't one. The sheriffs are on the scene waiting for us." said Hotch.

"Their location is only a half hour away by plane." said JJ.

"What's the rush?" asked Morgan.

"Well, there was evidence on the scene that could cause a bit of a public uproar." said Hotch.

"A satanic cult." said Gideon.

A minute later Spencer was sending Clarissa a quick text.

GOING TO MCALLISTER, VIRGINIA. ~ SR

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"JJ, we need to obviously, keep this out of the press for as long as possible." said Hotch as he put a photo in front of JJ.

"I'll do what I can." said JJ.

"Why is that so important?" asked Elle.

Spencer who was wearing a purple scarf that Clarissa got him for his birthday spoke up.

"There was a nationwide scare in the 1980s involving satanic ritual killings and abuse. The satanic panic, it was called. It began after the publication of a book about repressed memories being recovered through hypnotherapy. Memories of growing up with devil worshipers who use children in their rituals and ceremonies." said Spencer.

"Most of the claims were later found to be false or just impossible." said Hotch as he thought about hearing the tiredness in Spencer's voice, meaning that Clarissa had a right to be worried about her husband.

"Still, numerous therapists accepted the assertions as true and began searching for similar signs in their own patients. After one year, thousands of people reported the exact same repressed memories." said Spencer.

"The bureau conducted an investigation and concluded that most of the most of the ritual killings or abuse were more urban legend than anything else." said Hotch.

"You're saying that there's no such thing as devil worship?" asked Elle.

"Not at all. But most of the satanism that we've seen is juveniles damaging property, desecrating churches, cemeteries. To my knowledge, there has never been a proven case of a satanic ritual killing in the United States." said Gideon as Morgan picked up a photo.

"Well, maybe there is now." said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer and Gideon made their way closer to the skeleton as Sheriff Bridges looked at them.

"Morning'. John Bridges." said Sheriff Bridges as he shook hands with JJ.

"Yeah. We spoke on the phone. I'm agent Jareau, and this is agent Gideon and Dr. Reid with the FBI's behavioral analysis unit." said JJ.

"Hi." said Gideon as he shook hands with Sheriff Bridges.

"Thanks for coming out so fast." said Sheriff Bridges.

"Yeah. Of course." said JJ as Spencer continued to look at the body.

"There was an in-service in Charlottesville last year said if we ran into any unusual homicides we were supposed to call you folks sooner rather than later." said Sheriff Bridges.

"Yeah, they were right." said Gideon.

"Is this unusual enough?" asked Sheriff Bridges.

"It certainly is interesting." said Spencer before he knelt down onto the ground to start examining the skeleton more.

"You guys must get a lot of this, huh? Satanic stuff?" asked Sheriff Bridges.

"Not really. Who found the bodies?" asked Gideon as Spencer found a stick to help him search the scene more without pulling on gloves.

"A hiker found the first one at the trail and my deputies located this one while searching for evidence. We don't even know if it's a man or a woman." said Sheriff Bridges as Spencer looked at the pelvis of the skeleton before using the stick to put the tattered pants back.

"It's a man. The male pelvis is more narrow and the opening at the bottom is heart-shaped, as opposed to oval." said Spencer as he poked the wax with his stick, "Melted wax?"

"Candle wax?" asked JJ.

"Candles are used in rituals." said Spencer.

"They're also used on birthday cakes." said Gideon.

"Actually, they were originally used to protect the birthday celebrant from demons for the coming year. As a matter of fact, down to the fourth century Christianity rejected the birthday celebration as a pagan ritual." smiled Spencer.

"What kind of doctor are you?" asked Sheriff Bridges.

Before Spencer could answer, Gideon told Sheriff Bridges about Spencer's IQ, memory, reading speed, and the degrees he had under his belt.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"Does "L-O-D" mean anything to you?" asked Gideon as he looked at Spencer.

"Uh-uh. I don't know of any significance in satanism, either." said Spencer.

JJ who was looking at her phone spoke.

"Well, I could have Garcia research this "L-O-D" thing if I could get a call out." said JJ.

"Not much of a chance of that out here." said Sheriff Bridges.

"Are there any cults in the area that you know about? Secret groups? People you see you don't know much about, people who stay to themselves mostly." said Gideon.

"This is a very religious area. Church on Sundays, fellowship on Wednesday, bible classes. If there was a secret group, I'd probably know about it." said Sheriff Bridges.

Spencer thought about how he was raised by a strict Catholic aunt while thinking about how Clarissa was very strict about attending church every Sunday due to her Christian upbringing.

"That's an inherent contradiction." chuckled Spencer.

"Excuse me?" asked Sheriff Bridges.

"He means if there was a group being secretive, you probably wouldn't know." said Gideon.

"Look, people out here just want a quiet place to raise their kids. What I know is none of them are capable of doing this." said Sheriff Bridges as he looked at the skeleton again.

At that moment all four adults started their hike back, and before they knew it Spencer, JJ, and Gideon were climbing up a hill.

"Find anything interesting down there?" asked Hotch as Gideon who reached the top first, took hold of JJ's hand to help pull her up.

"Yeah, it does look like some kind of ritual site." said Gideon.

Elle came over to Spencer, grabbed hold of his hand and pulled him up while Spencer spoke.

"Have any of you ever heard the expression "lod" or the acronym "L. O. D."?" asked Spencer as he nodded his thanks to Elle before tucking his long bangs behind his ear.

"Not me." said Elle just as Cherish's mother came running over causing Spencer, Hotch, Gideon, Morgan, Elle, and JJ to watch the crying mother confront Sheriff Bridges making Spencer think about Diana who was back home with her nanny and sleeping mother.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Gideon came over to Spencer, JJ, and Hotch.

"We're looking for someone who can overpower our victim and abduct a girl from a traveled path without being seen." said Gideon.

"It certainly fits with the cult theory. More than one unsub to control multiple victims." said Spencer.

"But if the attack were ferocious enough a single unsub could, too. Kill Adam and grab the girl while she's in shock." said Hotch just as Morgan   
and Elle came over to them.

"This is some rough country. We only went 1/4 of a mile, and we almost got lost." said Elle.

"The unsub has to be from this area. You don't just stumble onto a place like this." said Morgan.

"JJ, where did the sheriff go?" asked Gideon.

"He's setting up a search party." said JJ as she rejoined her team.

"Tell him I want him to use volunteers from the area. Locals." said Gideon.

"Do you want him to know why?" asked JJ.

"No, not yet." said Gideon.

"Is it wise to alienate him?" asked Hotch as JJ walked away.

"Well, he thinks we're looking for a monster. If we tell him we're looking for volunteers so we can profile who shows up, he might call the whole thing off." said Gideon before walking away before Spencer went over to one of the officers.

A few minutes later Spencer was ducking under the crime scene tape to catch up with JJ and Sheriff Bridges.

"Hey, can I come with you guys? I need to call Quantico and have them research that whole "lod" thing." said Spencer.

"Yeah, sure. Hop in." said Sheriff Bridges.

A few seconds later Spencer was in the back seat and Sheriff Bridges truck.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer climbed out of the back seat when someone approached them.

"What's happened, John?" asked the man.

"Reverend Paul Burke, this is- I'm sorry, I forgot your names." said Sheriff Bridges.

"I'm agent Jareau. This is Dr. Reid." said JJ.

"They're with the FBI." said Sheriff Bridges.

"FBI? It's true, then? Adam's dead?" asked Reverend Burke.

"Cherish Hanson's missing, too." said Sheriff Bridges.

"Is there anything I can do?" asked Reverend Burke.

"Actually, yes. We're putting together a search party. Could you call the congregation?" asked Sheriff Bridges.

"Of course. Of course. I'll go make some calls." said Reverend Burke.

"Thanks, Reverend." said Sheriff Bridges before looking at Spencer and JJ, "This way."

A minute later Spencer and JJ were in the bullpen, and Sheriff Bridges was addressing Spencer.

"Use any phone, Doc, you just dial 9 to get an outside line. I've got an emergency phone list back here in my office." said Sheriff Bridges.

A few seconds later Spencer was looking at newspaper articles and trophies from the local high school while thinking about how his dad tried to get him into little league before he died while thinking back to how he and uncle Gordon bonded over basketball as he picked up a football.

"Did you play ball?" asked a teenage boy.

Spencer turned around to see a teenage boy in a Letterman jacket holding his schoolwork in his arms.

"No." said Spencer as he continued to hold the ball.

"Yeah, I probably wouldn't have, either, if not for my father. I'm Cory." said Cory as he held out his hand for Spencer to shake that Spencer surprisingly took and shook it.

"Spencer Reid." said Spencer before noticing the book in Cory's arms, "Who's that, Nietzsche? "Thus spake Zarathustra" was rather antagonistic of the judeo-Christian world view for this town, isn't it?"

"I don't think too many people here would've bothered to read it. If they had, they wouldn't understand it. Might as well be a Hawking essay on quark theory." said Cory as Spencer laughed a bit, "Nobody ever got that reference before." said Cory before looking around and looked at Spencer, "Is my father around?" asked Cory before noticing the questioning look on Spencer's face, "The sheriff?"

"He's in his office with another agent." said Spencer.

"Agent?" asked Cory.

"I'm with the FBI, Behavioral Analysis Unit." said Spencer.

"Profilers?" asked Cory.

Spencer nodded causing Cory to become awestruck.

"Ha. This is mad cool. I got, like 100 questions I go-," said Cory before realizing something, "Wait. Why would FBI profilers be here in McAllister?"

"There was a murder outside of town on the mountain." said Spencer.

"A murder?" asked Cory.

"A girl's missing." said Spencer just as Sheriff Bridges approached them.

"It's Cherish, son." said Cory.

"Cherish Hanson?" asked Cory.

"We're putting together a search party. I need you to get the rest of the team together and meet us out at the trail about 1/2 mile south of the point." said Sheriff Bridges.

"Yeah. Ok." said Cory before grabbing his stuff and walked away.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that evening Spencer was standing in a cubicle with his brother-in-law as he started to yawn, making Hotch think about his conversation with Clarissa and then Morgan.

"Tired?" asked Hotch.

"I'm fine." said Spencer as he continued to read the book in his hands.

"We all get them sometimes." said Hotch.

"Get what?" asked Spencer.

"Nightmares." said Hotch.

Spencer looked towards Morgan who was on the phone before looking at Hotch.

"It's not that bad." said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law and gave him a look to tell him that he was lying.

"You want to talk about it, you know where I am." said Hotch as he patted Spencer on the shoulder before walking away.

"Uh, they're ready." said JJ.

"Okay." said Hotch.

Spencer instantly took his place on a short filing cabinet while being surprised that Sheriff Bridges allowed his son to listen in, thinking that Sheriff Bridges wanted to keep Cory safe.

"Contrary to popular belief there has never been a proven case of satanic ritual killing. Never a verified human sacrifice. Having said that, there have been isolated cases of animal sacrifice... Many, many cases of vandalism in the name of Satan." started Hotch.

"But that doesn't mean that ritual satanism is impossible. More importantly, for our purposes there have been cults that killed, just not in ritual fashion." said Morgan.

"The Reverend Jim Jones and the peoples temple..." said Spencer before getting up so he could make eye contact with everyone, "His followers killed a US. Congressman and three people before committing mass suicide and leaving over 900 people dead. And perhaps the most widely-known of the killer cults the Manson family under the direction of Charles Manson killed nine people in a four-day period in an attempt to initiate a race war." said Spencer.

"Killer cults do exist, and they all have one thing in common... Invariably they're headed by charismatic megalomaniacs." said Elle.

"You're looking for that leader. He's who will stand out. He'll be memorable to somebody, people who aren't in his group will see him as strange, weird, scary." said Spencer.

Hotch made his way to stand next to his youngest agent.

"Since we're dealing with professed satanists which is often practiced by younger males we may be looking for teenagers. Heavy metal music is often associated with satanism and these kids and their leader may reflect that in their look." said Hotch.

"Most likely, there'll be sex, drugs and alcohol. And the leader, he'll be older. It's part of his charm." said Morgan.

"And he is from this area. He's definitely local." said Hotch.

"These woods are too thick and confusing for a visitor to get around in." said Elle.

"You think one of our own people is doing this?" asked Sheriff Bridges.

"We're sure of it." said Hotch.

"I would know if someone was capable of doing-" said Sheriff Bridges.

Cory looked at his father.

"Dad. I know somebody like that." said Cory.

A few minutes later Spencer was in an office with Sheriff Bridges, Cory, Reverend Burke, Hotch, Gideon, Elle, Morgan, and JJ.

"His name's Mike Zizzo. He graduated about five years ago. He's in his 20s, but he still hangs out with high school kids. He's got a group of them. They follow him everywhere. They all get high and listen to heavy metal. He calls them the lords of destruction." said Cory.

Spencer instantly realized what lod meant.

"LOD." said Spencer.

Sheriff Bridges looked at his son.

"How do you know this, Cory?" asked Sheriff Bridges.

Cory looked nervous.

"It's all right, son." said Sheriff Bridges.

"I've been there, where they hang out drinking beers. He talks about Satan all the time. Says he's the one true God." said Cory.

"Where is this place?" asked Gideon.

"On the other side of the mountain. The old Jenson house." said Cory.

"It's out of my jurisdiction." said Sheriff Bridges.

"Not ours." said Hotch.

Spencer quickly got up and followed his teammates out of the door.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer and Morgan were standing by Deputy Harris's car.

"I've got to give the sheriff a report. I'll be back as soon as I can. You guys need anything?" asked Deputy Harris.

"Coffee would be nice." said Spencer.

"He takes about a quart of sugar in it." laughed Morgan before walking away.

"2 teaspoons is fine." said Spencer.

"You got it." said Deputy Harris before starting his car.

Spencer made his way over to Morgan.

"Morgan. You knew I didn't want you to tell Hotch about my nightmares." said Spencer.

"Reid, that's something they need to know about." said Morgan.

"What do you mean "they"?" asked Spencer.

"Hotch and Gideon." said Morgan.

"You told Gideon, too?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah, and it's OK, kid." said Morgan.

"What if they think I can't do my job? What if they want to pull me off the team?" asked Spencer.

"They won't." said Morgan.

"Oh, yeah? How do you know that?" asked Spencer.

"I just do." said Morgan before walking away a bit.

"You had no right, man. I- I confided in you. You know, this is exactly what I get when I trust someone. It gets thrown back in my face." snapped Spencer as he thought about how his parents promised him that they would see him in the morning only to find out the next morning that he was never going to see them again, how bad high school was until his uncle took action, and how his aunt and uncle promised him that they would go out for dinner when they returned only for him to be planning a funeral.

"Mine started six months after I got into the BAU Yeah. Mine." said Morgan before leaning against a car and sighed, "We were working a strangler case in Montana. Four victims. Me, I was still pretty young at the time so you know, I was feeling myself. I was cocky, I was arrogant. The locals, they didn't have anything, so I stepped up. I said I can nail down a profile for you just as soon as I can get what I need." said Morgan.

"More victims?" asked Spencer.

"She was found the next day. So I went down to the scene to do my thing. And as I was looking over the body, that's when I saw them. Her eyes, Reid. They were wide open. And there was something different about them, it was like they were looking right at me. Like she knew. I asked for a victim. Well, here she was. That's when they started for me. Night after night I would fall asleep and I would see those eyes. They were dead eyes. Accusing eyes. And it got to the point where it was happening even when I wasn't asleep. Reid, everywhere I went, I saw those eyes." said Morgan.

"What did you do?" asked Spencer softly.

"Gideon. He knew. I didn't tell him. I was like you. I didn't want anybody to know. He just...he knew. And he sat me down and he just kind of talked me through it. I still have the nightmares to this day, just not nearly as often. But when they come back, I know how to handle them better." said Morgan.

"What did he say?" asked Spencer.

Before Morgan could answer, a car pulled up revealing Cory.

"Did you find her? Cherish?" asked Cory as he rushed towards Spencer and Morgan.

"No." said Spencer.

"Did Zizzo say anything?" asked Cory.

"We don't know. We've been here the whole time." said Morgan as Cory continued to frantically search around.

"Cory, calm down." said Spencer.

"How am I supposed to calm down? Cherish is missing. Did you check all over?" asked Cory.

"We searched the whole house." said Spencer.

"What about the outbuilding?" asked Cory.

"Outbuilding?" asked Morgan causing Spencer to look at him.

"Did you check the other area? Back in the woods?" asked Cory.

"I didn't know there was another area." said Morgan.

"Yeah, it's like a sluice structure or something. He took me there once. It's this way." said Cory as he took off.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Let's go." said Morgan.

A few seconds later Spencer was heading into the direction that Morgan went in, and a few minutes later they were reaching the area.

"It's up here. This is their secret place." said Cory.

Morgan turned on his flashlight, and a few seconds later he was showing Spencer what he was looking for.

"Reid?" asked Morgan.

"I can't believe this is happening. This kind of thing doesn't happen in McAllister." said Cory.

"You said you read the profiling books. You know bad things happen anywhere. Anywhere at anytime." said Spencer before looking at Cory, "My parents were killed by a drunk driver when I was four-years-old, and when I was 19 my aunt and uncle who adopted me were killed by a brother of a suspect that my uncle did a kill shot on." said Spencer as he watched Morgan look inside the old house.

A minute later Morgan came out with a solemn look on his face.

"She in there? Is she all right?" asked Cory.

Spencer rested a hand on Cory's shoulder.

"Cory." said Spencer.

"She's in there." said Morgan.

"Is she dead?" asked Cory as he tried to go after Morgan, causing Spencer to hold him back.

Morgan sighed as he tried to make a call.

"She can't be dead." said Cory.

"Come on. Come on." said Morgan as he realized that his phone couldn't make calls before looking at Spencer, "Reid, I want you to go to the house and see if the deputies have come back."

"What?" asked Spencer quietly.

"We need the sheriff and the crime scene team here." said Morgan.

"But- -" said Spencer.

"Reid. Do it." said Morgan.

Spencer quickly run off using his eidetic memory to retrace his steps, and when he reached the area he saw that no one was there causing him to run back, and before he knew it he was back by Morgan and Cory.

"Hey Morgan, no one's up there." said Spencer just as Cory grabbed him.

"Get over here." said Cory.

"Reid. Reid." said Morgan as he pulled out his gun and pointed it at Cory while Cory had Spencer in a headlock, pointing a gun under Spencer's chin.

"Cory." said Morgan.

"This got all messed up." said Cory,

"Don't be stupid." said Morgan.

"She wasn't supposed to be with him. It was his run. He runs it every day, not her." said Cory.

"Cory, listen to me. We can fix this. But you've got to let Reid go." said Morgan.

"I never meant to hurt her. But make no mistake, I will shoot your boy right now." said Cory.

"No, you won't." said Morgan.

Cory cocked the revolver.

"Put the gun down." shouted Cory.

"Okay all right. You win." said Morgan as he stopped pointing his gun at Cory.

"Drop it. Drop the gun!" shouted Cory.

"OK. OK. You win. I'm putting the gun down." said Morgan as he dropped his gun, "You're in control, Cory. Let him go." said Morgan as he held up his hands.

"For the evil is man's best force. Man must become better and eviler." quoted Spencer.

"What?" asked Cory.

"That's what this is about, right? Zarathustra? The superman? There's no moral obligation for killing someone if you're superior to them? But Nietzsche was speaking metaphorically about evolving as a species." said Spencer.

"You're just a horny kid who wanted to get rid of the cheerleader's boyfriend." said Morgan.

"No." said Cory.

"Yes." said Morgan.

Cory pointed his gun at Morgan.

"That was never my intent- c'mon." said Cory.

Morgan quickly tackled Spencer and Cory, causing Cory to shoot the revolver into the air, and as Spencer was on the ground, Morgan punched Cory in the face to knock the boy out.

"You all right?" asked Morgan as he placed a hand on Spencer's shoulder.

"What happened?" asked Spencer.

"Him bringing us down here was way too much of a coincidence." said Morgan.

"I got that. But did you have to tackle us both?" asked Spencer.

"You're welcome, Reid." said Morgan as he got up and pulled Cory with him, "C'mon. Let's go, Cory."

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Over two hours later Spencer and Gideon were the only ones awake on the plane, and Gideon looked at Spencer as he pulled a picture out of his wallet.

"Hey Reid." said Gideon.

Spencer looked at Gideon who was holding up a picture of a family.

"Deborah Louise Addison. Her husband Tim. The kids are Amber and Keith. Eight and six. In 1985, Deborah Louise was walking home from school. She was abducted. She was 13. We profiled the unsub. And we were able to locate her before he harmed her. She writes a letter to the BAU every year. She updates us on her life." said Gideon as he thought about how Spencer would try to get together with his uncle's former squad around the anniversary of his aunt and uncle's death so they know that he's doing OK.

"It's nice, but-" said Spencer.

"We all have bad dreams. Everyone on the plane. Who wouldn't? We hunt the worst of humanity we see the depths of depravity, we dream of monsters." said Gideon.

"In my dream, there's a baby in the middle of a circle and there's someone on the other side. And I can't get to her before-." said Spencer before becoming quiet.

Gideon held up the picture again.

"Every night I look at Deborah, helps me to go to sleep thinking of the victims we've saved. We don't always beat the monsters to the babies but we do enough to make the job worth it keep the nightmares bearable." said Gideon as he decided to take out the photo and pass it to Spencer who took it.

Spencer looked at Gideon.

"The night my parents died, they actually sat me down and told me that I was going to be a big brother, so sometimes I wonder if that baby in the dream would have been my baby sister." said Spencer.

"It could have been." said Gideon.

At that moment Spencer decided to close his eyes.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As soon as Spencer handed Hotch his paperwork, Hotch looked at Spencer.

"Let me give you a ride home." said Hotch.

10 minutes Hotch looked at Spencer who was in the front passenger seat of his car.

"When Morgan confronted me about your nightmares, I was already planning on talking to you after our latest case since Clarissa told me that you were dealing with nightmares." said Hotch before looking at Spencer, "Don't be angry at my sister for telling me because she was thinking about your well being."

"I know." said Spencer.

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Spencer entered the master bedroom to see Clarissa in bed with Diana, and Clarissa opened her eyes.

"I was given tonight off to help take care of Diana since another nurse offered to fill in for me." said Clarissa.

"OK." said Spencer.

"We need to talk Spence." said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were in the kitchen fixing themselves some tea, and Clarissa looked at her husband who was snacking on one of the cookies that Lucy made.

"You know that I was in the car crash that killed my mom." said Clarissa as she wiped a tear, "When you're not home I deal with nightmares about that car crash."

"Really?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa nodded as she explained about what her nightmares consist of before Spencer started telling Clarissa about his nightmare.


	25. Blood Hungry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Despite Spencer and Clarissa getting married in Manassas, Virginia at Clarissa's childhood church, they joined a church in Washington DC so they don't have to spend over 100 minutes on the road every Sunday when they drive to and from church.

Friday Evening

Spencer hurriedly packed up his desk when Morgan looked at him.

"Elle, JJ, Garcia, and I are going out to get a kick start to our weekend, and I was hoping that you would join us." said Morgan.

"I already have plans that I can't cancel." said Spencer as he thought about the breakfast for dinner routine that he and Clarissa love to have on Friday evenings when he's home.

"Have fun." said Elle.

"I will." said Spencer as he quickly pulled on his green and brown corduroy jacket before slinging his messenger bag around his shoulders just as Hotch who was in his winter jacket and had his briefcase came down the stairs.

"Want a ride so you don't have to take the train?" asked Hotch.

"Yes please." said Spencer before looking at Morgan and Elle, "Have a nice weekend guys and I will see you on Monday." said Spencer.

A minute later Spencer and Hotch were by the elevators when Garcia met up with them.

"You don't want to go out with JJ, Elle, my hot stuff, and me?" asked Garcia.

"I already have plans that I can't cancel." said Spencer.

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Spencer entered his house, and he smiled at how the decorations for Christmas were already up while smelling hash browns, breakfast sausage, and scrambled eggs from the kitchen as he hung up his winter jacket.

"Honey I'm home." called out Spencer as he put his gun into the gun safe before heading into the dining room where Diana was already in her high chair and Clarissa and Lucy were putting their dinner onto the dining room table.

"Daddy!" exclaimed Diana.

Spencer gave Diana a kiss before kissing his wife.

"How was work?" asked Clarissa.

"Good." smiled Spencer before giving Clarissa and Diana each a kiss before smiling at his wife, "You?" asked Spencer.

"I had a good day, and I was thinking that tomorrow we can go to Children's National so you can put on a magic show for the kids again." said Clarissa as she thought about how Spencer tries to do a monthly magic show for the kids.

"I would be glad to." smiled Spencer as he sat down.

A minute later Spencer, Clarissa, and Lucy were clasping their hands so Spencer could say Grace before they all started digging into their dinner.

"Haley was talking about us having double date tomorrow night." said Clarissa as she added ketchup onto her shredded hash browns.

"She wants to get out of the house for awhile?" asked Spencer.

"Yes." said Clarissa.

"Speaking of tonight, should we have a family movie night before bed?" asked Spencer.

"We should watch whatever Christmas specials that are showing on ABC Family tonight." said Clarissa.

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After dinner was cleaned up, Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana were in the living room building a blanket fort and a fire in the fireplace before they settled down in their fort and watched "A Year Without a Santa Claus", and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and Diana was giggling as she listened to her parents sing along to the songs during both movies.

xxxxxxxxxxx

After the movies were over and Diana was given her nightly bath, Spencer and Clarissa smiled down at their sleeping daughter.

"Daddy loves you so much baby girl." said Spencer as he gave his nearly two-year-old daughter a kiss.

"Mommy loves you." said Clarissa as she gave her daughter a kiss.

As soon as both parents stood up to their full heights, Spencer raised the railing of Diana's crib and a few minutes later they were downstairs cleaning up Diana's toys.

"We should put Diana's big girl bed together tomorrow." said Clarissa.

"I just can't believe that my baby girl is turning two in 12 days." said Spencer sadly.

"Me too, Spence." said Clarissa.

"I love it when you call me Spence, Clara." said Spencer.

"I love it when you decide to call me Clara." giggled Clarissa.

"You make me think of of the American Red Cross's founder Clara Barton who's name was Clarissa." grinned Spencer as he put away the last blanket from the blanket fort that he and Clarissa ended up building.

Clarissa blushed before grinning wickedly at her husband.

"How about you make sure that the house is secure while I get an early Christmas present for you." said Clarissa as she thought about one of the Christmas shopping trips that she went on with Haley.

"OK." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was groaning when he saw Clarissa wearing Christmas themed lingerie while undressing him.

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Saturday

Spencer and Clarissa entered the day room at Children's National with Diana on Spencer's hip, and Clarissa smiled when she saw a bunch of her patients in the day room along with a few other kids from the cancer ward.

"I have a surprise for you guys." said Clarissa.

"Who are they?" asked seven-year-old Randy as he noticed a tall young man and a toddler.

"Randy, these two people are my husband Spencer who's a magician and our 23-month-old daughter Diana." said Clarissa as she introduced each child to Spencer.

"Really?" asked five-year-old Rose.

"I am." said Spencer as he set down his daughter and pulled a quarter out of Diana's ear causing the nearly two-year-old girl to giggle, "I thought that I did a good job cleaning behind your ears last night." said Spencer as he smiled at the kids shock.

"Can you please show us more tricks?" asked a nine-year-old girl named Laura.

"I sure can sweetie, and I know a trick that everyone will love." said Spencer as he winked at his wife and pulled everything that he needed for his physics magic out of his messenger bag, "Please close your eyes." said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Randy.

"This magic trick will be my secret since one of the most important rules for a magician is to never reveal your secrets." said Spencer.

"OK." said Randy causing all the kids including Clarissa who was covering Diana's eyes.

Less than 20 seconds later he spoke up.

"You guys can open your eyes now." said Spencer.

"Nothing happening." said Randy.

"Just watch." said Spencer as he used his evil scientist voice to cause Diana and a bunch of other kids to giggle.

10 seconds later all the kids were clapping and cheering when the film canister shot across the room.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that evening Spencer and Clarissa entered the restaurant that Hotch and Haley were waiting for them at, and Clarissa grinned when she was hugging her oldest brother.

"Hey." said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, Hotch, and Haley had ordered their drinks and Hotch looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"So how was your evening yesterday and your day today?" asked Hotch.

"We ended up building a fort and a fire in the fire place and watched Christmas specials on ABC Family last night, and this morning we went to Children's National so I could put on my monthly magic show despite me having a bonus one being planned for the 23rd when we help out at the Christmas party for hospitalized children and their families." said Spencer.

"Did physics magic for the kids again?" asked Hotch as he thought about Spencer doing physics magic the day before when he got bored while thinking about the time that he and Haley ended up joining Spencer and Clarissa on a trip to Children's National to entertain the kids.

"Yep." said Spencer with a huge grin on his face.

"The kids definitely loved it when one of Spencer's rockets ended up hitting one of the strictest nurse's forehead." said Clarissa causing some laughter.

Hotch looked at his baby sister.

"I just can't believe that you will be 24-years-old next week Friday." said Hotch.

"Me too, but Spence and I are both sad that Diana will be turning two in 11 days." said Clarissa.

"Still going to church in the morning?" asked Haley.

"We are, and we're still planning on coming over for brunch tomorrow." said Clarissa as a waitress brought over their drinks and took their orders before Hotch and Haley updated Spencer and Clarissa on Jack.

xxxxxxxxxx

30 minutes later all four adults were eating dinner while Hotch and Haley were laughing as Spencer and Clarissa told Hotch and Haley about their niece's antics.

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Sunday Morning

Spencer and Clarissa smiled when they watched Diana play with one of the little girls that was Diana's age when Reverend Alden came over to them.

"How are you guys doing?" asked Reverend Alden.

"Life's going good right now, and we're excited about my birthday, Diana's birthday, and Christmas." said Clarissa.

"I can't believe that Diana's going to be two." said Reverend Alden as he smiled at Diana's giggles before looking at the young couple that joined his church when they settled down in DC.

"We neither." said Spencer.

"So if your home for Christmas, are you going to put a magic show on for the kids again during the fellowship hour?" asked Reverend Alden.

"I can never refuse giving a magic show for the kids here." said Spencer just as a few kids ran over begging him to do some magic tricks.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer sighed sadly as he sat down for breakfast.

"Even though I had a great weekend, I'm sad that the weekend if over." said Spencer.

"I am too, but we need to be in Agent Reid and Nurse Reid mode again until this evening." said Clarissa.

"I know, but I can't wait to have December 23rd off and don't have to go back until January 3rd." said Spencer.

"Your lucky that you get all that time off when I have to go back to work after Christmas." grumbled Clarissa.

"Well I'm already planning on helping out at the New Year's Eve party that your planning for the kids." said Spencer as he thought about the possibility of kids having to spend New Year's in the hospital.

"I can't wait because I can already imagine kids saying eww when I pull you into a kiss." teased Clarissa.

"I can't wait." said Spencer before taking another sip of his coffee.

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Two and a half hours later Spencer was sitting at the round table for briefing with Hotch, JJ, Elle, and Morgan while they waited for Gideon.

"Hope everyone had a restful weekend." said Hotch as he thought about the double date that he and Haley had with Spencer and Clarissa.

"That sounds ominous." said Elle.

JJ clicked her remote.

"Harringtonville, Tennessee, population 5,000. 64 years since they had a homicide. They've had 2 in the past 48 hours." said JJ.

"First victim, 57-year-old widower and grandfather Paul Thompson. Ambushed in his yard, 18 stab wounds to his chest and his neck. No forced entry into the house and the only item taken was a shotgun." said Hotch.

"Last night, Annie Stuart, 39, was also ambushed and it appears bludgeoned to death in her home with Thompson's stolen shotgun. In this case, the unsub apparently stole CDs DVDs, and a little jewelry." said JJ.

"This is a little extreme for a burglary." said Morgan.

"That's an understatement." said Elle.

"As you can see, Annie's throat was eviscerated." said Hotch as Gideon came into the room on crutches.

"Yet the first victim wasn't eviscerated and the unsub seems to have used a different weapon at each crime scene." said Spencer.

"2 different MO's." said Hotch.

"2 different killers?" asked Elle.

"Or one very psychotic individual." said Gideon causing his teammates who haven't seen him yet look at him.

"What happened to you?" asked Hotch.

"I got a list of things I want to try before it's too late." said Gideon.

Spencer inwardly smirked as he thought about his own list of things that he wanted to complete before he turned 30.

"And orthopedic surgery's one of them?" asked Elle.

"No, skydiving. Apparently it's all about the landing." said Gideon causing some chuckles.

"How long on the crutches?" asked Hotch.

"Just a couple days." said Gideon.

"So you can't go out in the field?" asked Elle.

"Not on crutches, no." said Hotch.

"Don't worry. I'll find a way to be helpful here. Got a blitz attack. No effort to remove the body, clean up evidence." said Gideon as he looked at crime scene photos.

"With organized killers, we see a pattern we're able to predict their behavior but with psychotic killers, they're guided by a given delusion." said Hotch.

"OK, until we understand the nature of the delusion we can't predict his next move." said Morgan.

"That's nearly impossible to do." said Hotch.

Spencer studied a crime scene photo before speaking up.

"Actually, I think we might have a clue. These rings at that crime scene might be some kind of signature?" asked Spencer as he showed the pictures he was looking at.

"I can work this angle. I'll see if there's any significance to the patterns." said Gideon.

"Psychotic killers are normally not that difficult to catch because they don't try to hide." said Hotch.

"Does that make your job easier?" asked JJ.

"Oh, no. 'cause until we do locate him he'll keep doing that." said Gideon as he showed a picture.

A few minutes later Spencer was sending Clarissa a quick text.

GOING TO HARRINGTONVILLE, TENNESSEE AND GIDEON'S STAYING BEHIND SINCE HE INJURED HIM ANKLE WHEN HE WENT SKYDIVING OVER THE WEEKEND CAUSING ME TO THINK ABOUT THE CRAZY STUFF YOU AND I ENDED UP DOING TOGETHER. ~ SR

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer who was wearing blue booties over his shoes looked around the living room as he thought about his piano in the living room when Elle joined him downstairs.

"All of the items stolen were taken from the upstairs bedroom. Why didn't he take her purse or cell phone or the jewelry off her body? It just doesn't make any sense." said Elle.

"Didn't make sense to us, either." said Sheriff Hall.

"This guy didn't come any closer to her than he had to." said Spencer as he pointed at the blood stains.

"What do you mean?" asked Sheriff Hall.

"There's a discrepancy in the profile." said Elle.

"Sheriff Hall, it's quite possible there were two people in the house." said Spencer.

"So I have two monsters out there?" asked Sheriff Hall.

"Someone went through the medicine cabinet looking for drugs. Excessive methamphetamine abuse can cause psychotic violent episodes." said   
Spencer as he thought about how his uncle Gordon explained to him that his adoptive aunt became schizophrenic due to drug abuse.

"So you think these guys were junkies?" asked Deputy Long.

"I think we're dealing with 2 different profiles. The killer, yeah, he's a psychotic. The other guy, though, he's just a thief. I mean, the fact that he   
didn't take the victim's jewelry suggests that he identified with her." said Spencer.

"Meaning what?" asked Deputy Long.

"He probably knew her." said Spencer.

"CSU found a soda can by the fence in the grass. It's marked by that cone." said Elle.

"That's right. We figure the suspect 'the suspects, was lying in wait there.'" said Sheriff Hall.

"You spoke to the kid who was having a singing lesson?" asked Elle.

"That's right. Why?" asked Sheriff Hall.

"I'm just wondering why he didn't tell you that he saw the suspect." said Elle.

"What?" asked Sheriff Hall.

Elle pointed at the music stand as she talked.

"Well, CSU found four of Wally Brisbane's fingerprints right here on the music stand in this position. Now, from where I'm standing, my height I got tree branches blocking my way. But Wally's seven, so that would put his eye-line right about... Here." said Elle causing Spencer to crouch down with her as his mouth opened up as he looked at Elle.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer and Elle arrived at the station with Deputy Long and Sheriff Hall.

"The guy the kid described definitely sounds like a tweaker." said Elle.

Sheriff Hall looked at his deputy.

"Pull the files of all the methamphetamine arrests in the past six months." said Sheriff Hall.

"Will do." said Deputy Long.

"We should narrow the suspect list down according to the guy's residence. Crimes like these are always crimes of opportunity." said Spencer.

"So the first guy on our suspect list will live in the closest proximity to the victim." said Elle.

"Do have a place where we can set up?" asked Spencer as he thought about how small the station was.

"You can use Simpson's desk. He's out. You got a phone there and a computer. Meantime, I'm gonna narrow down that list." said Sheriff Hall as he hung up his jacket causing Spencer and Elle to find Simpson's desk and started to set up.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer and Elle were diligently going through the files they had while bouncing off ideas when Hotch and Morgan arrived.

"Hey, you guys find anything?" asked Morgan.

"Yeah. Elle found an eyewitness, little boy who saw someone in the driveway." said Spencer as he thought about the magic trick that Elle asked him to do for Wally before they headed to the station.

"That's more than we got at Thompson's." said Hotch.

Deputy Long approached them.

"We got two suspects. Judd Franklin and Domino Thacker." said Deputy Long as she passed two files just as Sheriff Hall approached them.

"I know Domino. He's bad news. Serious tweaker. Cooks his own stuff." said Sheriff Hall.

"He live near the crime scenes?" asked Elle.

"Almost directly between them." said Sheriff Hall.

Spencer who was leaning back a bit with his hands behind his head watched Morgan read.

"Robbery, armed robbery, possession, possession with intent. This guy's been hospitalized for overdoses and attempted suicide." said Morgan.

"What do you think?" asked Sheriff Hall.

"I think we need to find Domino." said Elle.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer was giving the profile with his teammates.

"We are looking for a 20- 30-year-old male." said Hotch.

"The unsub engages in anthropophagy. It's a psychotic conviction that he must drink human blood and possibly eat human flesh." said Morgan.

"For Richard Rrenton Chase, the vampire killer he drank his victims' blood because he believed that aliens had invaded his body and were slowly drinking his blood." said Spencer.

"And if he didn't get the blood he needed... He'd die. Anthropophagy suggests such an extreme level of psychosis and disorganization that he couldn't have ventured very far from home to commit these crimes." said Hotch.

"This guy lives or has lived in this town." said Morgan.

"He knows the territory." said Hotch.

"You've all seen him. Maybe at the ballpark. Or riding his bike home from the grocery store. He wasn't always a threat. He could have been your neighbor. He might have been your friend. We think something about his delusion is keeping him here in town." said Morgan.

"So we're gonna start at Annie Stuart's house and we're gonna spread out there in quadrants. We're gonna eliminate all of his hiding places." said Hotch.

"Paul Thompson's funeral is this afternoon. A lot of his neighbors are gonna be there." said Sheriff Hall.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that evening Spencer was standing in their latest victim's kitchen with Hotch and Morgan as he thought about the little boy who was smiling and laughing at his magic tricks who was taken by their unsub.

"The little boy was at both crime scenes." said Hotch.

"The unsub might have been after him all along." said Morgan.

"I'm sure that's what Mrs. Brisbane thinks." said Elle as she thought about how angry the mother was at her.

"I want you to talk to her when she calms down see if she can come up with any leads." said Hotch.

"She's not gonna want to talk to me." said Elle.

"Persuade her." said Hotch before looking at Deputy Long, "You found the body, right, deputy?" asked Hotch.

"Yes, sir. If you don't mind, I'll wait out here." said Deputy Long.

"That's fine." said Hotch as he motioned Spencer to follow him.

Less than a minute later Spencer and Hotch were in the room where Lynette Giles was found.

"Another evisceration. Her throat was slashed." said Spencer.

"That's why nobody heard her scream." said Hotch.

Spencer looked puzzled at the body.

"He split her rib cage open?" asked Spencer.

Hotch instantly found a bloodied tool that would be strong enough.

"With these." said Hotch.

Spencer instantly realized what organ was missing.

"Looks like this time his target was the heart." said Spencer.

"Did he take it?" asked Hotch.

"Yes." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer, Hotch, and Morgan were back at the station patching through with Gideon and Garcia.

"He took the heart? Hotch?" asked Gideon.

"Yeah." said Hotch.

"The heart has always had incredible symbolic significance. I mean, aside from just banal romantic associations. The Egyptians left the heart in mummies because they believed the organ ensured eternal life." said Spencer.

"Something I read..." said Gideon as he tried to search for a book, "Oh, there it is... oh!" said Gideon as he crashed into something causing Spencer, Hotch, and Morgan to get amused at the antics of Gideon and Garcia as Gideon tried to find what he was looking for before Gideon became serious.

"There was...there was an article by a Cambridge professor. It seems that, uh all the organs the unsub's taken... Stomach, liver, now the heart... Were thought to be the seat of the soul at one time or another." said Gideon.

Spencer looked at the picture that was scanned over to them.

"Then he drinks their blood?" asked Spencer.

"So when this man drinks his victims' blood..." said Hotch.

"He believes he's encountering the divine." finished Spencer.

"Wait a minute. None of this explains why he took the kid." said Morgan.

"Well, the, uh unsub made the victim into an angel. Maybe the kid's a messianic figure." said Gideon.

"Let's just hope he doesn't feel the need to sacrifice him." said Hotch as he thought about his nearly two-year-old niece and his one and a half month old son.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was with Hotch at the new crime scene and Sheriff Long was comforting his deputy as Hotch opened the container that was left.

"He must have come by between patrols." said Deputy Long.

"Now, Jackie, it's not your fault." said Sheriff Hall.

"Well, what the hell is it?" asked Deputy Long.

Hotch examined the container.

"It's a human stomach." said Hotch grimly as he placed the container onto a stool.

"Oh, my God. You mean Dave's wife?" asked Deputy Long.

Spencer crouched down a bit.

"We can only assume." said Spencer.

"Now, none of the neighbors saw anything?" asked Sheriff Hall.

"Well, we talked to Miss Wade across the road. Nothing. And the Maynards aren't even home." said Deputy Long.

"All right. We need a 24-hour watch here and at the other crime scenes, too. Go on." said Sheriff Hall causing his deputy to walk away as Sheriff Hall looked at Hotch, "Now, Agent Hotchner, I need to be very clear here. Right now all we got is some theory about a religious delusion. I mean, how the hell do you explain that?" asked Sheriff Hall.

"Sometimes disorganized killers return body parts to the grave sites. It might be nothing. It might just be a way for him to manipulate the body even after death. But it may also be an act of remorse." said Spencer.

"Even in the most extreme psychotic episodes there are variations in lucidity, degrees of insightfulness." said Hotch.

"If I'm coming out of a delusion... Just killed someone and drank their blood..." said Spencer as he stood up to his full height.

Hotch instantly realized what Spencer was doing.

"And I'm starting to feel bad about it..." said Hotch.

"Where do I go?" asked Spencer as he thought about Clarissa's Christian upbringing.

"Sheriff, how many churches are in this town?" asked Hotch.

Sheriff Hall chuckled.

"Gentlemen, this is the bible belt. Maybe 15." said Sheriff Hall.

"I would post an officer at every single one. Call in auxiliary cops if you have them." said Hotch.

"All right. You got it." said Sheriff Hall as he used his walkie talkie, "Long, get on the phone with me." said Sheriff Hall.

xxxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was in the holding area with Hotch, Morgan, Elle, and Sheriff Hall.

"His name's Eddie Mays, 21-years-old." said Sheriff Hall.

"Do you know him?" asked Hotch.

"Yeah. I just can't believe a boy like Eddie would do something like this. He was the nicest kid you ever saw." said Sheriff Hall.

"He's mentally ill, sheriff. A boy like Eddie Mays could truly use an insanity plea in a court of law." said Spencer.

"You know, the ironic thing about psychotic illness is generally they're less violent than the rest of the population." said Hotch.

"By the nature of psychotic delusions, when they do get violent..." said Elle.

Morgan looked at Eddie.

"We're never gonna get anywhere with him. Not like this. Look at the guy. You can't read him is rights. You can't even process him." said Morgan.

"I better call his mother. It's a damn shame. His daddy died just a couple years ago. This is gonna fall awful hard on her." said Sheriff Hall.

"What's the family like?" asked Hotch.

"Dad was a doctor and Mary Gwathmey Mays comes from one of the oldest families in Tennessee." said Sheriff Hall.

"I'd like to meet her." said Hotch.

"We already have." said Elle.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer waited with Hotch as they waited for Doctor Lindsey to medicate Eddie, and Spencer smiled when he saw a text message from Clarissa.

DIANA AND I BOTH MISS YOU, AND I CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO COME HOME. ~ CR

A few minutes later Doctor Lindsey came over to them.

"I've administered the haloperidol to Mr. Mays." said Doctor Lindsey.

"How long until it takes effect?" asked Hotch.

"It's coming on now. Full effect in about 15 minutes or so." said Doctor Lindsey.

"Good." said Hotch.

"You have to realize that while the drug will make him appear to be asymptomatic it will not necessarily remove his delusional state." said Doctor Lindsey.

"Will it make him more lucid?" asked Hotch.

"Possibly. But let me make this clear. I gave him the shot because he needed to be medicated not so you could agitate him by putting him through an interrogation. That boy needs to be hospitalized." said Doctor Lindsey.

"Well, a jury might agree with you but right now he needs to answer some questions 'cause there's a little boy we need to find. Thank you." said Hotch before looking at Spencer who was sitting patiently and motioned him to follow him.

A few seconds later Spencer was handing Deputy Long his gun, and less than a minute later he was in Eddie's cell with Hotch who sat on the bed.

"Hey, Eddie. Do you know where you are?" asked Hotch gently.

"Jail." said Eddie.

"That's right. Do you know why?" asked Hotch.

"I was very bad. Before, I was very bad. But I'm... I'm much better now, much... Much better." said a stuttering Eddie.

"Eddy, do you remember hurting anyone? Where did you go to college, Eddie?" asked Hotch as he thought about how Clarissa enjoyed nursing school.

"Mm. Boston." said Eddie.

"Did you like Boston?" asked Hotch as he thought about how Clarissa lived in Cambridge with Spencer for a year.

"Mm-mmm. No. I don't know." said Eddie.

"What was your favorite thing about Boston, Eddie?" asked Spencer softly as he thought about how he enjoyed touring Boston when Clarissa visited him and after she moved to Cambridge to be with him.

"Harvard time square, I had cappuccino." said Eddie.

"Cappuccino." said Spencer as he grabbed a picture out of his messenger bag and passed it to Hotch.

"Eddie, do you remember Wally? Wally Brisbanes." asked Hotch.

"I know the Brisbanes." said Eddie.

"You took this little boy." said Hotch.

"No. No. I did not... I did not do that." said Eddie.

"Eddie, I understand you're uncomfortable. Your... your hands are cut up. Your arms are bruised. Is... Do you know why?" asked Hotch.

"Yeah." said Eddie.

"You killed three people, Eddie." said Hotch.

"You killed three people, Eddy. You killed three people, Eddie." repeated Eddie.

Hotch motioned Spencer to show more pictures.

"Paul Thompson. Annie Stuart. Lynette Giles." said Spencer.

"No! No! Stop it! You will... you will be punished. God is punishing you. No, no, no. I brought you an angel. See? No, I do not see. I do not see. Please. Please. Please! I brought you an angel. Please. Take it." ranted Eddie as Spencer and Hotch left the holding cell.

"We need him to tell us where that boy is." said Sheriff Hall.

"Sheriff, we're not gonna get anything out of him until he gets this latest episode under control." said Hotch.

"Agent Hotchner, it's getting cold and dark. If that Brisbane boy's anywhere outside, he won't stand a chance in hell." said Sheriff Hall just as Deputy Long alerted them.

"You all! Hurry up down here! Come on!" shouted Deputy Long.

Less than a minute later Spencer saw Eddie trying to hang himself while JJ and Deputy Long held back Eddie's mom.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer and Hotch were talking with Mrs. Mays.

"Why weren't you straight with us, Mrs. Mays?" asked Hotch.

"Straight with you?" asked Mrs. Mays.

"You never told us your son was in a mental hospital." said Hotch.

"I spoke with a doctor at a facility in Boston. He said Eddy was released a week ago and that he called you to pick him up and that you never came." said Spencer.

"You asked me if I knew if he'd come home, and I didn't. I... I thought he was in Boston." said Mrs. Mays.

"There was also blood on the floor of your utility room. Do you have any explanation for that?" asked Hotch.

"Well, sometimes I cut my legs when I prune the roses." said Mrs. Mays.

"You prune your roses in winter?" asked Hotch as he thought about the rose bush that Spencer and Clarissa planted together in their backyard and they don't prune the bush in the winter.

"As a matter of fact, I do. When do you prune yours?" asked Mrs. May.

"Mrs. Mays, I understand that you may want to do everything you can to protect your son but that little boy may be dying right now." said Hotch firmly.

"I would like to help you. I really would. But right now, I've got to see about my son." said Mrs. May as she grabbed her jacket

"I think it's better if you stay here." said Spencer firmly.

Hotch looked at Spencer and gave him a look to tell him to stay with Mrs. Mays.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was getting dressed in his hotel room when he sent Clarissa a text message.

FLYING BACK TO QUANTICO THIS MORNING, SO I SHOULD BE HOME IN TIME FOR DINNER. ~ SR

A minute later his phone vibrated and he grinned at Clarissa's text.

CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU, AND I HAVE PLANS FOR YOU TONIGHT DOCTOR. ~ CR

Spencer chuckled, and after eating breakfast with his team they were flying back to Quantico.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer stepped out of the elevator with his teammates, and Hotch had the feeling to praise his teammates as he thought about how Garcia was irritated.

"Good job. Nice work, everybody, by the way." said Hotch.

"Thank you. Now I get to go back to the 15 folders on my desk." said Elle as they headed into the bullpen.

Spencer looked at Elle in shock.

"Wait a minute. 15? I have 24." said Spencer.

"That's 'cause I slipped you four of mine." said Elle causing Hotch and Morgan to smile.

"What?" asked Spencer.

"On Friday." said Elle.

"Yeah. Mm-hmm." said Spencer as he hurried to his desk.

A minute later Elle came over to Spencer and took six files from Spencer's desk just as Spencer's phone vibrated causing Spencer to see a text from Elle who was grinning at him.

SOMETIMES I FORGET THAT YOU HAVE A FAMILY TO GO HOME TO, SO I PROMISE THAT I WILL STOP PUTTING FILES THAT I WAS GIVEN TO DO ONTO YOUR PILE SINCE YOU DESERVE TO GO HOME AT A DECENT TIME. ~ EG

"Thank you." said Spencer.

Morgan looked at Elle.

"Why did you take files from Reid's pile?" asked Morgan.

"Its my early Christmas present for him." said Elle.

"What about taking folders from me?" asked Morgan.

"I'm not taking any from you because I am still mad at you for giving Reid that whistle." said Elle.

Spencer chuckled as he started the consults on his desk.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that evening Spencer got out of Hotch's car, and he grinned when he saw Diana standing by the window causing Hotch to wave at his niece who waved back as Spencer hurried into the house, and as soon as Spencer had his gun in the safe he was scooping up his baby girl and hugged and kissed her.

"Daddy missed you so much baby girl." said Spencer as he carried his daughter to the kitchen and smiled when he saw Clarissa and Lucy putting baked chicken, mashed potatoes, and mixed vegetables onto the dining room table.

"Dinner's done." said Clarissa as she made her way to her husband and kissed him.

A few minutes later Spencer was eating dinner with his wife, daughter, and Lucy.


	26. Two Birthdays and Christmas

At 6 AM on December 15th of 2005 Clarissa woke up to being given kisses from Diana.

"Happy birfday mommy." said Diana.

"Thank you." said Clarissa before smelling breakfast, "Knowing daddy, he's surprising me with breakfast in bed." said Clarissa.

Spencer stood in the doorway with a tray filled with breakfast.

"I am, and Diana and I haven't eaten yet so there's enough for all of us." said Spencer as he entered the bedroom with a tray that contained scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes, orange juice, and coffee before looking at his wife, "Tomorrow we have our date night to celebrate your birthday and Saturday is yours and Diana's joint birthday dinner." said Spencer.

"Are you going to tell me what we're doing?" asked Clarissa.

"Going to out for dinner before we go to the movies to see "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" since we both want to see that movie." said Spencer.

"I can't wait." said Clarissa.

Diana quickly reached towards the plate and snatched a piece of bacon causing Spencer and Clarissa to laugh before they started focusing on their breakfast before Spencer and Clarissa both had to focus on getting ready for work.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two hours later Elle looked up at Spencer from her paperwork.

"Its weird not seeing Morgan here." said Elle as she thought about how Morgan left for Chicago the day before and wasn't coming back until after New Years.

"Usually I take extra time off after Thanksgiving when it comes to the anniversary of aunt Ethel's and uncle Gordon's deaths." said Spencer just as JJ walked past.

"Since we're starting leave next week Wednesday for Christmas, what are you doing for Christmas JJ?" asked Elle.

"Going home to Pennsylvania to visit my mom, and knowing her she will be pestering me about finding a man to marry and give her another grandchild since my older brother already has a seven-year-old daughter." said JJ just as Garcia walked over to them.

"I'm going to San Francisco to visit my brothers." said Garcia before looking at Spencer, "Are you going to go spend Christmas with your godparents or adopted aunt?" asked Garcia.

"Aunt Elena's medication got changed last week so I was advised to not visit during Christmas, and I don't feel like going to Kansas City this year." said Spencer.

Hotch who was walking past with his empty coffee cut looked at Spencer, JJ, Elle, and Garcia.

"Its already been decided that Reid is spending Christmas with my family and me." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next evening Hotch looked at Spencer who was pulling on his winter jacket.

"Let me give you a ride home." said Hotch.

"Thanks." said Spencer before looking at Elle, "Have a nice weekend." said Spencer.

"You too Reid." said Elle.

10 minutes later Spencer and Hotch were heading to Washington DC when Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Are you ready for Clarissa's and Diana's joint birthday dinner tomorrow?" asked Hotch.

"Yeah, and I just can't believe that my little girl will be two in five days." sighed Spencer.

"Me neither and I can't believe that Jack's almost two-months-old." said Hotch.

"Clarissa and I don't regret the idea of celebrating Diana's birthday four days early this year due it being Christmas next weekend." said Spencer.

"Diana's sure going to be spoiled when it comes to her birthday happening four days before Christmas." said Hotch as he thought about all the shopping that Haley did for both Diana's birthday and Christmas.

"Clarissa and I both decided to spoil Diana this year since she's able to make more memories this year, and Clarissa and I decided that when Diana becomes a big sister, on her birthday she will get money and the rest of her presents will wait until Christmas." said Spencer.

"My family did the exact same thing for Clarissa to prevent Sean from getting jealous about Clarissa being spoiled during the month of December." said Hotch.

"Clarissa was the one to come up with the idea because I asked her about how her birthday and Christmas were celebrated when it came to being born ten days before Christmas." said Spencer.

"So what plans did you make for my sister and yourself tonight?" asked Hotch as he thought about Spencer requesting that he has Friday night with Clarissa while saving Clarissa's and Diana's joint birthday dinner for Saturday.

"We're going to one of our favorite diners for dinner, and after dinner we're going to see "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe" since we both read the book series as kids." said Spencer.

"I enjoyed the series when I was a child too, and at least Clarissa an avid reader just like you." said Hotch as he thought about how Clarissa enjoyed reading more than Sean did.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Four and a half hours later Spencer and Clarissa exited the movie theater together, and as Spencer wrapped an arm around his wife he kissed his wife's head.

"So did you enjoy the movie like I did?" asked Spencer before snatching a piece of popcorn that was leftover from the large popcorn that they bought to share.

"I loved it, and when it released on DVD we will need to buy two copies so we have a copy to share with Diana when she's older while the other goes to Children's National so the kids can watch it." said Clarissa as she rested her head on Spencer's shoulder.

"I think its nice of you to buy DVDs to donate to Children's National." said Spencer as Clarissa's phone vibrated and she laughed at a text message   
from Lucy.

"Diana wants us home to tuck her in." said Clarissa.

"Let's go home because I have plans for you." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

A half hour later Spencer and Clarissa was giving Diana a good night kiss, and after picking up Diana's toys they were in their bedroom.

"What plans do you have for me?" asked Clarissa.

"What do you say about me giving you a massage before we have a bubble bath?" asked Spencer.

"Lovely idea Dr. Reid, and you might like the surprise that I have on that might make you want to skip the massage." smirked Clarissa as she   
thought about the surprise that she put on while waiting for Spencer to come home from work.

Spencer groaned as he started to feel his body react before he decided to focus on giving his wife that promised massage.

"Well I will go grab your favorite lavender oil while you get ready." said Spencer as he stalked towards the bathroom.

A few seconds later Clarissa was undressing herself before getting into position on their bed, and when Spencer exited the bathroom he groaned at the lingerie that Clarissa was wearing before he started giving Clarissa her massage.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day at the Reid family home, Sean looked at his little sister.

"Happy birthday, Clarissa." said Sean.

Clarissa hugged her 25-year-old brother.

"My birthday was two days ago, but thank you Sean." said Clarissa.

"So where's my soon to be two-year-old niece?" asked Sean.

"Spencer took her upstairs to use the bathroom since we've been working on potty training her." said Clarissa just as Spencer came downstairs with Diana on his hip.

"There's my favorite niece." said Sean as he took in the little girl who was a perfect mixture of her parents.

"Diana's your only niece, Sean." said Spencer.

"Have you two started working on giving me another niece or nephew to spoil?" asked Sean as he took his niece from Spencer.

Spencer and Clarissa blushed before Clarissa slapped her Sean's chest before covering Diana's ears.

"Instead of teasing Spencer and me about our sex lives, how about you find a girl to marry and start a family with so Spencer and I can have a niece or nephew to spoil?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer smirked at his wife.

"Good one." said Spencer.

Diana looked out the back patio door before looking at her daddy.

"Pway in snow?" asked Diana.

Spencer looked at his watch before looking at his daughter.

"We have about an hour to play in the snow before auntie Haley and uncle Aaron get here." said Spencer as he took his daughter from Sean.

"I will join you guys." said Clarissa before looking at her brother, "What about you Sean?" asked Clarissa.

"I will join you guys." said Sean.

Lucy looked at Spencer, Clarissa, and Sean.

"I will focus on making dinner, and as soon as you guys come in I will have hot chocolate ready." said Lucy.

"Thanks Lucy." said Clarissa.

A few minutes later all three adults and Diana were being bundled up before going into the back yard to play in the snow.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer, Clarissa, Hotch, Haley, Sean, Lucy, and Diana were around the dining room table while Jack slept in Diana's old bassinet eating dinner when Clarissa looked at her husband's face.

"You OK Spence?" asked Clarissa.

"Despite spending my 24th birthday over two months ago, I keep on remembering that I am getting closer to the 20th anniversary of my parents deaths." said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Are you thinking about taking time off during the 20th anniversary and go to Vegas?" asked Hotch.

"I have." said Spencer.

Clarissa squeezed her husband's hand.

"If your able to snag time off I will make sure to snag time off too so you don't have to go alone." said Clarissa before focusing on her dinner.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A half hour later Spencer smiled at his wife and daughter as he lit the candles for Clarissa's and Diana's birthday cake before Haley started singing causing Spencer, Hotch, Sean, and Lucy to join in.

"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Clarissa and Diana. Happy birthday to you." sang Spencer, Hotch, Haley, Sean, and Lucy.

Clarissa looked at her daughter.

"Let's blow out our candles together." said Clarissa.

"OK mommy." said Diana.

A few seconds later Clarissa and Diana were working together to blow out the candles that either spelled out 24 or 2, and after the candles were blown out everyone was clapping.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Four days later Spencer and Clarissa were tucking in their little girl into her new big girl bed, and a few minutes later they were downstairs cleaning up Diana's toys.

"I just can't believe that my baby girl's now two-years-old." said Spencer.

"Me too." said Clarissa before looking at her husband, "So when Diana starts school the August before her fourth birthday, do you want to send her to public school, private school, or have her home schooled since Lucy's here during the day?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer quickly thought about it as he thought about how Diana's already taking it after him when it came to intelligence.

"Part of me wants to have her home schooled so she can learn on her own level while not being a target of bullies for being a genius." said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "But I know that its important to allow Diana to make friends, and with the money we have from our trust funds we can easily send Diana to private school." said Spencer as he thought about the leftover money in his trust fund that would allow him to work a minimum wage job and still not hurt on money.

"Should we send her to the Christian school that Reverend Alden told us about or schools like Washington International School, Sidwell Friends School, and Georgetown Day School that offers preschool through 12th grade?" asked Clarissa.

"I heard good things about Washington International School, Sidwell Friends School, and Georgetown Day School since a five of my former classmates who you met at our wedding attended those three schools." said Spencer.

"You know Dr. Bethany Lawrence?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer nodded.

"She sends her three kids to Washington International School and her kids love that school." said Clarissa.

"So I guess we will see if our daughter can get into Washington International School, but if she doesn't get accepted then we can see if she can get into either Georgetown Day School or Sidwell Friends School." said Spencer.

"You do know that when the principal at Washington International School finds out that your a genius, they are going to want to accept Diana when they find out how smart she is." said Clarissa.

"I didn't even have to pay for college at all because when word got out about me being set to graduate high school at 12-years-old, colleges were coming to me and were offering me full academic scholarships that would last until I was done with college." said Spencer right before Clarissa pulled his tie to lock his lips with hers.

After two minutes of kissing, Spencer broke out of the kiss and looked at his wife.

"What was that for?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa pressed herself against her husband and she smirked when she felt what she was looking for.

"With it only being 8:30 I wanted to tell you that to celebrate having you all to myself until after New Years, I wanted us to have some much needed mommy and daddy time, and our make out session worked since I found what I was looking for." said a smirking Clarissa.

Spencer's eyes darkened a bit as he felt his body reacting more causing him to make sure that the house was secure before scooping up his wife into a bridal carry and carried her upstairs where they checked on their little girl before heading into the master bedroom where they landed onto their bed to continue their make out session before undressing each other.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two days later Clarissa looked at her husband who was dressed in jeans, a holiday sweater, and his glasses.

"How about you call Elle and ask her if she wants to help out at holiday party in two hours." said Clarissa.

"OK." said Spencer as he pulled out his phone and called Elle who answered on the second ring.

"What's up?" asked Elle.

"Clarissa, Diana, and I are heading to Children's National in 90 minutes." said Spencer.

"Is Diana OK?" asked Elle.

"She's not sick or injured." said Spencer.

"Then why are you guys going there?" asked Elle.

"With tomorrow being Christmas Eve, nurses and doctors are throwing a Christmas party for patients and their families, and with being married to   
a staff member I'm allowed to attend the party since I actually give a magic show to the kids once a month." said Spencer.

"So with me not going to Brooklyn for Christmas your wondering if I want to join you and Clarissa in on helping entertain the kids?" asked Elle.

"Clarissa recommended that I should call you since she wants to hang out with you again, and knowing Diana she's going to want you to play with her." said Spencer.

"I would love to join you guys, and I promise that I won't tell JJ, Garcia, or Morgan about helping out at the Christmas party." said Elle as she thought about getting the opportunity to spend time with Spencer's little girl.

"Thank you." said Spencer before nodding at Clarissa to tell her that Elle's joining them, "So do you want to ride in with Clarissa, Diana, and me or   
are you planning on driving yourself in?" asked Spencer.

"I will drive there myself." said Elle as she thought about the gift that she bought for Diana.

Spencer gave Elle the time that she needed to be there before hanging up.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Two and a half hours later Elle who had Diana on her lap laughed with Clarissa as they heard children laugh and cheer at Spencer's physics magic.

"Has he done physics magic at the office yet?" asked Clarissa.

"He has." said Elle.

"Physics magic is part of his grand finale." said Clarissa as Spencer shot off another bottle rocket.

"What's after the magic show?" asked Elle.

"A Christmas carol sing along, and don't be surprised when Spencer joins nurse Laura and nurse Beatrice on the stage since he brought his cello along." said Clarissa before looking at her little girl who was wearing her red velvet dress that was going to be worn again in Sunday, "You want to tell Elle about what daddy started teaching you today?" asked Clarissa.

Diana looked up at Elle.

"Daddy is eaching me to pway piano." said the two year old girl.

"You enjoy hearing him play music?" asked Elle as she thought back to seeing a piano, violin, and cello in the living room at Spencer's and Clarissa's house.

Diana nodded as her shoulder length brown curly hair bounced.

"Yes." said Diana.

Clarissa looked at Elle.

"One of the first times I watched Spencer play his violin, I ended up wiping up tears that were falling from my face." said Clarissa.

"Really?" asked Elle.

"With how beautiful he plays, his playing even got Haley to cry." said Clarissa as she watched Spencer take a bow before the seven-year-old girl he picked to be his assistant decided to curtsey in her hospital gown and robe, "As of right now there's a 15 minute break to use the bathroom, grab more snacks and punch before the concert." said Clarissa.

"I got to go potty." said Diana.

"How about I take you Diana." said Elle.

"Thank you Elle because I will have to check on a few kids." said Clarissa.

20 minutes later Elle was watching Spencer in awe as he played "Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer" on his cello while two other nurses joined along on either the violin or piano while kids including Spencer sang along.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next night Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, and Lucy were sitting around the fireplace as Spencer who had Diana on his lap was reading "A Visit From St. Nicholas" out loud before Spencer and Clarissa tucked in their little girl. And after Diana was asleep for a half hour Spencer and Clarissa worked together to get all the presents underneath their Christmas tree before eating and drinking the milk and cookies they laid out before heading to bed themselves.

xxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer woke up to a two-year-old girl pulling his hair causing Spencer to see a blurry Diana standing by him.

"What are you doing here baby girl?" asked Spencer as he reached for his glasses and slipped them on while Clarissa was waking up and reaching for her own glasses and slipped them on.

At that moment Lucy who was standing in the doorway spoke up.

"I decided to send Diana in here to wake you two up since I have breakfast being kept warm in the oven." said Lucy before walking away.

"What do you say about eating some yummy breakfast before opening the gifts that you got from Santa before we go to church?" asked Spencer.

"Yay!" said Diana as she clapped her hands.

A few minutes later a robe clad Spencer was carrying his daughter down the stairs with a robe clad Clarissa next to him where the family of three entered the kitchen to see Lucy setting plates of scrambled eggs, pancakes, and shredded hash browns onto the dining room table.

"I already made coffee for you two and hot chocolate for Diana." said Lucy.

"Thank you." said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, and Lucy were enjoying their breakfast before they headed into the living room where Diana's eyes went wide at all the presents that were under the tree.

"For me?" asked Diana.

"There's presents for mommy, uncle Aaron, auntie Haley, uncle Sean, Jack, Lucy, and me too." said Spencer.

"But we can open the presents that have yours, daddy's, Lucy's, and my name on them because after church uncle Aaron, auntie Haley, uncle Sean, and cousin Jack are coming here for lunch." said Clarissa.

"Yay!" cheered Diana.

A few minutes later Diana was ripping open the presents that were handed to her while Spencer, Clarissa, and Lucy opened their presents.


	27. What the Fresh Hell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its now January 2006 in this story.
> 
> I hope you readers love the extracurricular activity that little Diana's going to do to help her make friends outside of school when she starts preschool in August of 2007.

A bundled up Diana looked at her mommy who was putting on shoes with blades on her little feet.

"What is tat?" asked Diana as she pointed at her feet.

A bundled up Spencer who was lacing up his own ice skates spoke up.

"They are ice skates baby girl." said Spencer as he put a helmet on Diana's head.

"Ice skates." repeated Diana.

"Good job." praised Clarissa.

"We're taking you ice skating for the first time baby girl, and we will hold your hands the entire time." said Spencer.

"OK." said Diana.

Lucy looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"I will stay out here, and when Diana has enough I will stay with her so you two can have some fun." said Lucy.

"Thanks Lucy." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa stepped onto the ice with little Diana between them.

"We'll go slow for you, baby girl." said Spencer.

Diana looked up at her daddy and decided to trust him.

"OK." said Diana.

A few seconds later Spencer and Clarissa started slowly skating on the ice as they held onto Diana's hand, and they smiled when they saw Diana watching them glide their feet across the ice.

"Good job baby girl." praised Spencer.

"Are you having fun sweet pea?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes mommy." said Diana as she smiled at how fast she was picking up ice skating, "Can we pwease go fast?" asked Diana.

"Sure baby girl." said Spencer as he and Clarissa locked eyes before nodding.

A few seconds later Spencer and Clarissa picked up some speed and Diana giggled as she skated faster, and after completing a circle in the rink, Spencer looked at his daughter.

"Do you just want to skate with me baby girl while mommy shows some tricks?" asked Spencer as he thought about how Clarissa took figure skating lessons as a little girl.

"Yes daddy." said Diana.

A few seconds later Clarissa let go of Diana's hand, and as Spencer continued to skate with his daughter, the father and daughter duo watched Clarissa do some turns and jumps on the ice.

"What did you think of mommy's ice skating skills, baby girl?" asked Spencer.

"I want to do tat." said Diana.

Clarissa made her way over to her two favorite people and she winked at Spencer.

"Come to mommy sweet pea." said Clarissa.

Diana let go of her daddy's hand and she skated over to her mommy without falling down.

"Great job!" praised Clarissa as Spencer skated over to them.

"I cold." said Diana.

"Let's take you back to Lucy who will get you some hot chocolate." said Clarissa as she and Spencer each took one of Diana's hands.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa handed Diana to her nanny before Spencer and Clarissa went back onto the ice.

"Diana wants to learn how to ice skate like you, and with how uncle Gordon and I did Boy Scouts together to help keep me well rounded, I think that Diana would definitely make friends when she takes ice skating lessons." said Spencer.

"I think you would enjoy giving her physics lessons." teased Clarissa.

"There's that too." said Spencer as he let go of his wife's hand and started to skate faster causing Clarissa to chase after him.

A few minutes later they were holding hands again when a couple in their mid 50's approached them.

"We saw you skating with your daughter a while ago, and she was great." said the woman.

"Thanks." said Clarissa.

"You two remind us when we were young, so how long have you two been married and how old is your daughter?" asked the woman.

Spencer and Clarissa looked at each other while nodding at each other about not giving out any names.

"Three years." said Spencer.

"Our daughter just turned two on December 21st." said Clarissa.

"Is the woman your daughter is with her grandma?" asked the woman.

Spencer and Clarissa shook their heads.

"That woman is our live in nanny since my husband is on call 24/7 and one week a month I work third shift." said Clarissa.

The 55 year old woman looked at Clarissa as she thought about how the almost black hair and blue eyes looked familiar.

"You look exactly like one of my former students when I taught elementary school in Manassas." said the woman.

"I grew up in Manassas so what's her name?" asked Clarissa.

"Her name is Clarissa Hotchner, and if my math is correct Clarissa would be 24 right now." said the woman.

Clarissa grinned when she recognized her second grade teacher Mrs. Thatcher.

"I'm now known as Clarissa Reid." said Clarissa.

Mrs. Thatcher smiled as she thought about the little girl who was obsessed with figure skating turned into a beautiful young woman.

"You've definitely grown up." said Mrs. Thatcher as she hugged Clarissa, "So are you going to introduce me to your husband?" asked Mrs. Thatcher.

"Mrs. Thatcher..." said Clarissa.

"You have the right to call me Abigail since your no longer my student." said Abigail.

"Abigail, I would like to introduce you to my husband Dr. Spencer Reid." said Clarissa.

"Pleased to meet you ma'am." said Spencer as he shook hands with Clarissa's former second grade teacher.

"A doctor at 24 years old?" asked Abigail.

Clarissa started to explain Spencer's IQ, reading speed, memory, and his degrees before Abigail looked at the young couple who looked like they were getting cold.

"How about the four of us go get some hot chocolate so I can meet your little girl." said Abigail.

At that moment both couples started to skate towards the exit of the rink.

"OK, and our little girl's name is Diana Ethel Reid." said Clarissa.

"Beautiful name." said Abigail.

"Diana's named after my late mom and late aunt." said Spencer.

"You can tell me all about yourself and your daughter while we drink hot chocolate." said Abigail.

A minute later Abigail and her husband Jeffery were meeting Diana while Jeffery took Spencer with him to get hot chocolate for the ladies.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Two days later Spencer entered the kitchen with Diana who smiled when she saw her mommy making breakfast with her nanny.

"Mommy." said Diana.

Clarissa grinned when she saw two of her favorite people.

"Did you have fun with daddy last night?" asked Clarissa as she thought about having to work third shift.

Diana nodded as the pigtails that her daddy pulled her long curly brown hair into bounced.

"Yes." said Diana.

"I ended up having Diana sleep with me last night." said Spencer as he kissed his wife.

"Well get Diana into her booster seat because breakfast is almost done." said Clarissa.

"OK." said Spencer as he swooped Diana into her booster seat before fixing himself a cup of coffee.

Diana looked at her mommy.

"We pway today?" asked Diana.

"Mommy has to sleep, but you get to have fun with Lucy." said Clarissa.

"OK." said Diana as Lucy came into the kitchen with the newspaper and passed it to Spencer.

"Thanks." said Spencer.

A few minutes later the family of three and Lucy were enjoying their breakfast while Spencer read the newspaper.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Over three hours later Spencer was in the conference room with his teammates as JJ briefed them on their next case.

"11-year-old Billie Copeland was last seen on the playground at 4:30 yesterday afternoon." said JJ as she passed out files.

"That's...20 hours ago. Child abduction response plan says we get notified immediately. What happened?" asked Hotch as he thought about his two-year-old niece and his two month old son.

Spencer looked at the photo of the 11-year-old girl as he thought about Diana and Jack.

"There was reason to believe she was with her father. Her cell phone shows a call to him around the time of the disappearance." said JJ.

"So they've since ruled him out?" asked Gideon.

"He called the mother about an hour ago." said JJ.

"That doesn't mean he isn't involved." said Gideon.

"He's on his way to the finally home, so you can talk to him there. But the local police are now considering this a stranger abduction." said JJ.

"20 hours late." said Morgan.

Spencer held his composure as he spoke.

"Long-term stranger abductions of children Billie's age are rare. They represent only of one percent of all missing cases per year. But they are usually more likely to be fatal. Of the children that are abducted and murdered, 44% die within the first hour. From that point forth, their odds of survival greatly decrease. 75% are gone after three hours. Virtually all of them are dead after 24." said Spencer as he thought about how he and Clarissa were definitely going to need to talk to Diana about talking to strangers.

"Which means we have just under four hours to find her." said Hotch.

"Shall we go?" asked Gideon.

A minute later Spencer was sending a quick text message to Clarissa.

GOING TO WILMINGTON, DELAWARE SINCE AN 11 YEAR OLD GIRL WAS ABDUCTED 20 HOURS AGO. ~ SR

xxxxxxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer, Gideon, and JJ were getting out of an SUV.

"She's been missing 21 hours." said Spencer.

"We're gonna go meet with the lead detective at the park where the girl was last seen. We need to know everything that's being done." said Hotch as Elle passed Spencer his messenger bag as she climbed out of the SUV.

"I'll find out what the press is running, See if I know any of them. We may need to manage what they put out." said JJ.

"Good. See what the uniforms know from the canvasses." said Gideon before looking at Elle, "Elle, I need you to be a liaison with the family." said Gideon as Spencer headed over to one of the officers.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer met up with JJ as they looked at all the reporters that showed up.

"Big response." said JJ.

"Yeah." said Spencer as he thought back to the media attention he received as a child, teenager, and when he graduated from the academy before things quieted down for him.

"My friends in the press eat this up." said JJ.

"They have a lot of on-air hours to fill." said Spencer.

JJ chuckled before noticing an ex-boyfriend.

"'Scuse me." said JJ before approaching her ex causing Spencer to watch the confrontation before she came back over to him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer and JJ met up with the others and Detective Charlotte Russet.

"Tells us he's at ease in the neighborhood, comfortable talking to kids in plain view." said Hotch.

"He lured Billie with a story about a lost dog." said Morgan.

"She recently lost one of her own." said Gideon.

"That indicates previous knowledge of the victim." said Spencer.

"Yeah, but it doesn't necessarily mean that she knew him, Only that he's aware." said Hotch.

"It's not uncommon for predators like these to know kids that live around his area." said Spencer.

"He's from the neighborhood." said Hotch.

"Then we go door to door and ask for voluntary searchers." said Detective Russet.

"Neighborhood's already crawling with uniforms. They're everywhere." said Spencer.

"So far you followed the child abduction response plan to the letter." said Gideon.

Detective Russet nodded.

"For the past few hours, yes." said Detective Russet.

"So now we need to move past the guidelines." said Gideon.

"What?" asked a surprised Detective Russet.

"Change tactics. If we don't, Billie isn't gonna make it past the next 24 hours. I want you to corral these clowns. We're gonna need 'em-all of 'em." ordered Gideon causing everyone to follow suit.

xxxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was at the station with Hotch, Gideon, and Elle to give the profile.

"Billie Copeland has been missing 22 hours. It is vital that we locate her in the first 24." said Gideon.

Spencer crossed his arms.

"The unknown subject in this case is most likely a resident of one of the subdivisions around the park. We have canceled the amber alert. We need to coordinate with all your officers to pull everyone off the street immediately." said Hotch.

"That's crazy." said Sergeant Cooper.

"Just hear me out." said Hotch.

"But it goes against court procedure. You guys wrote the damn thing." said Sergeant Cooper angrily.

"CARP is just a guideline for immediate response to child abduction. Believe it or not, we're already late in the game, and we do know enough about this unsub to know that if he feels like we're closing in on him at all, he will kill Billie to avoid detection. If anything, we need to lessen the pressure on him." said Spencer firmly as he knew that he got everyone's attention.

"The man fits in. 'cause nobody knows what he is. Can we really know our neighbors? He walks his dog... Does yard work. Solitary activities appeal to him. But if you watch closely, you'll see he pays a little too much attention to the neighborhood kids. Largely goes unnoticed because he isn't perceived as a threat." said Gideon.

"He's a white male, in his late 20s to 30s. He has a menial or temporary job. Socially marginalized and frustrated. He relates better to kids than he does to adults." said Hotch.

"This is not his first offense against children, but it is his first abduction." said Elle.

"How do you know that?" asked Detective Russet.

"First-timers hunt closer to home. Experienced predators don't." said Elle.

"And he's had a recent stressor, a job loss or other setback. Unable to maintain a normal relationship, he'll have extensive pornographic materials in his home and on his computer. And while they won't all involve children, some of them definitely will." said Hotch.

"Since he used the missing dog ruse and we believe him to be a regular fixture of the neighborhood, it's quite possible that he truly does own or did at one point own a dog named Candy. We recommend cross-checking veterinary records with residents in the neighborhood." said Spencer.

"He will not inject himself into this investigation." said Hotch.

"Don't these guys like to know what the cops know?" asked Detective Russet.

"No, not this type of unsub. He's hiding. He doesn't know what anyone saw. He doesn't know if there's any information about him out there. He's unlikely to walk in, ask us... "Can I help you?" But I can guarantee you he will be watching the news. So how we handle them is very important." said Gideon.

"Check your canvass records. One of you may have had contact with him in the early stages." said Hotch.

"What about registered sex offenders?" asked Detective Russet.

"We've got somebody working on that right now." said Hotch.

"OK, ladies and gentlemen, everyone clear on that? Good luck. Thank you." said Gideon before walking away.

Hotch looked over at Spencer.

"You should take a break and make a certain phone call." said Hotch quietly.

"Thanks." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was standing outside dialing Lucy's number.

"Clarissa mentioned that your helping find a missing 11-year-old girl." said Lucy.

"Yeah, and I was told to take a break for a few minutes. So is she awake?" asked Spencer.

"She just woke up from her afternoon nap a half hour ago, and she's helping me make cookies so I take it that you want to talk to her." said Lucy.

"Yeah." said Spencer.

"Well here she is." said Lucy before putting her cellphone on speaker, "Daddy's on the phone." said Lucy.

"Hi daddy." said Diana.

Spencer looked around.

"Hi there Diana." said Spencer.

"I ake cookies wit Lucy." said Diana.

"What type?" asked Spencer as he licked his lips.

"Toc chips." said Diana as she helped put chocolate chips into the batter.

"I can't wait to have some when I get home, but I have to get going." said Spencer.

"I wuv you daddy." said Diana.

Spencer looked around.

"Love you too." said Spencer before hanging up, and as soon as he pocketed his phone Gideon came outside with Detective Russet.

"Come with us, Spencer." said Gideon.

A minute later Spencer was in the back seat of a car, and Gideon looked at him.

"You doing OK?" asked Gideon.

"Yeah." said Spencer.

Detective Russet looked at Spencer.

"Why would agent Gideon ask you if your doing OK?" asked Detective Russet.

"Its OK Spencer since we're away from the rest of the team." said Gideon.

Spencer pulled out his wallet and pulled out the picture that was taken over Christmas.

"This is my daughter Diana who just turned two on December 21st, and only agents Hotchner, Gideon, and Greenway knows about her since my wife is Agent Hotchner's little sister." said Spencer.

Detective Russet looked at the picture and she couldn't help but smile at the blue eyes and brown curly haired toddler.

"She's beautiful and she definitely has your hair." said Detective Russet before she handed Spencer the photo back before starting the car.

xxxxxxxxxxx

A short while later the three adults were watching the last police car drive away.

"Well, that's it. No more uniforms in the neighborhood. Are you sure this is the way to go?" asked Detective Russet.

"I hope it is." said Gideon.

"You're taking a hell of a chance, aren't you?" asked Detective Russet.

"All we can do is respond to what's in front of us." said Gideon.

"What if you're wrong?" asked Detective Russet.

"Pfft. Ha. You know what program did the most harm to this country in terms of crimes like this, child abduction?" asked Gideon.

"No." said Detective Russet.

""Stranger Danger."" said Spencer as he thought about how protective his uncle was.

"Flooded the schools with it." said Gideon.

"I remember them coming to my classroom. It was officer friendly with Stranger Danger coloring books." said Spencer as he thought about how his uncle always insisted on being the one to speak to his class.

"Taught a whole generation about a scary man in a trench coat hiding behind a tree. Then we learned that strangers are only a... Fraction of the offenders out there. Most are people you see every day- your family, your neighbors, school teachers. You know the rest. Prepared our children for 1% of the danger, made them more vulnerable to 99%. So we've been wrong before. All we can do is learn from it, and hopefully be better next time." said Gideon just as an officer spoke over the radio.

"Unit 5-3-9. 9." said a dispatcher.

Detective Russet grabbed her radio.

"9." responded Detective Russet.

"9, we have a marked unit calling for your presence at the river off route 6." said the dispatcher.

"What's this in reference to?" asked Detective Russet.

"They've located a body. Female." said the dispatcher.

xxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer, Gideon, and Detective Russet were hiking towards a river with Sergeant cooper.

"The call is anonymous. Said there was a body in the water." said Sergeant Cooper.

"Brown hair, brown eyes, about 4'10", 4'11"?" asked Detective Russet.

"Yeah." said Sergeant Cooper.

Detective Russet looked at Gideon.

"Should have started the search earlier." said Detective Russet.

"I'm sure you just did what you thought was right, detective." soothed Spencer as they continued their hike towards the crime scene.

Detective Russet looked at Spencer and Gideon.

"I can't. I can't. If it's her-" said Detective Russet.

"That's all right." said Gideon as he motioned Spencer to follow him.

Less than a minute later Spencer and Gideon were watching coroners pulling the body out of the water, and Gideon looked at Spencer who was looking pale at the sight of the body causing him to wrap a fatherly arm around Spencer.

"That's not Billie since Billie's hair is shorter." said Spencer.

"I know." said Gideon before looking at Spencer, "You OK?" asked Gideon.

"I'm definitely going to have Diana sleep with me as soon as we find Billie." said Spencer quietly.

"Clarissa's working third shift this week?" asked Gideon quietly.

Spencer nodded.

"We should go tell the others that its not Billie." said Gideon before he and Spencer headed back to Detective Russet.

"Is it her?" asked Detective Russet.

"Its not Billie." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer, Gideon, and Detective Russet approached the rest of the team and Billie's parents.

"It's not Billie. The body that was found was much older and has been dead a number of days. Looks like maybe a junkie or an overdose." said Gideon.

"Are you sure?" asked Mr. Copeland.

"Yes, I saw the body myself. It's not your daughter." said Gideon.

"My god, I can't- I can't..." cried Mrs. Copeland as she thought about another girl being dead.

"Please just come with me." said Elle as she led Billie's parents away.

As soon as Billie's parents were out of earshot

"What the hell was that about?" asked Gideon.

"A reporter asked them about the body." said Morgan.

"Probably heard it on the scanner." said Hotch.

"I should have prepared them for that." said JJ.

"We don't have anything to tell them yet." said Gideon.

"Billie's running out of time." said Spencer.

"So are the parents." said Hotch.

"Come on. A little hope, huh? We'll make it." said Gideon as he walked away.

xxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was going through files with Morgan when Hotch approached them.

"How's it going?" asked Hotch.

"The unsub's in here somewhere. You gotta bet that the police talked to him In their initial canvass." said Morgan.

"Maybe not." said Spencer as he gained attention from Hotch and Morgan, "Our unsub is a solitary individual. He isn't the type of guy to insert himself into an investigation. Wouldn't it make more sense that he wouldn't have answered the door During the initial canvass?" asked Spencer.

"Neighborhood was crawling with cops, canine units, search and rescues. Make him nervous and jumpy, he'd want to avoid them at all costs." said Hotch.

"So then he couldn't allow anyone into his home to ask routine questions even if the girl was bound or gagged because it'd be too risky." said Morgan.

"It's next to impossible to control breathing, speech patterns, body language when the body's under extreme duress. Maybe if we compare hotline tips with anyone who wasn't at home during the initial canvass." said Spencer.

Morgan instantly understood what Spencer was saying.

"Or didn't answer their door." said Morgan.

"We'll find our unsub." said Spencer.

"Let's get to it." said Hotch.

Morgan quickly flagged down Sergeant Cooper.

"Sergeant." asked Morgan.

"Yeah?" asked Sergeant Cooper.

"Here's what we need- Everything that comes in here..." said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer and Morgan were by the tip lines and Spencer listened to Morgan's side of the conversation.

"Yeah. It was worth a try. That's right. Thank you." said Morgan before hanging up and looked at Spencer, "Nothin'." said Morgan.

Sergeant Cooper approached them.

"Agent Morgan?" asked Sergeant Cooper.

"Yeah." said Morgan.

"This the kinda thing you're looking for?" asked Sergeant Cooper as he motioned Spencer and Morgan to follow him.

"Reid." said Morgan as he looked at the younger agent who was hard at work.

Spencer got up and followed the two older men.

"A Mr. Lomax has a neighbor with a green SUV, but he hasn't seen him all day. Says that's unusual. thought he might have been out of town, but now he sees some lights on over there." said Sergeant Cooper as he handed Morgan a piece of paper.

"1106 Springfield. Where's our canvass sheets?" asked Morgan.

Spencer grabbed some papers.

"1106." said Morgan.

Spencer looked at canvass sheet.

"1100 block. 1106... No answer." said Spencer.

"Let's go talk with Mr. Lomax. Nice call." said Morgan as he looked at Sergeant Cooper.

"Thanks. Good luck." said Sergeant Cooper.

xxxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer and Morgan approached Mr. Lomax who was raking leaves in his yard.

"Mr. Lomax? Agent Morgan. Agent Reid. FBI." said Morgan as he and Spencer showed Mr. Lomax their badges.

"Holy smokes! That was fast." said Mr. Lomax.

"Did you call in a tip about your neighbor, Don Curtis?" asked Spencer.

"Lives down the street. I saw the news thing, you know? I was thinking... Don drives a dark green Explorer, and he's at the park all the time. I figured like they said on the television maybe he knows something but he doesn't know that he knows it. Know what I mean?" asked Mr. Lomax.

"Where's his Explorer now?" asked Morgan.

"It's usually in the driveway, but I haven't seen it today. Haven't seen Don either, which is kind of weird. We're always out front talking about the lawns. He never has any crab grass. I don't know how he does it." said Mr. Lomax.

"Do you know if he has a dog?" asked Morgan.

"Used to. A big Golden Retriever. name was Candy. I think she died like 6 months ago." said Mr. Lomax.

"Thank you, Mr. Lomax." said Morgan before he and Spencer walked away as Morgan pulled out his phone to call Hotch, "Yeah, Hotch. Morgan. Better get over here right now." said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxx

A short while later Hotch and Gideon met up with Spencer, Morgan, and Detective Russet.

"Third house down on the right. We knocked on the door, but nobody's answering." said Morgan.

"His neighbor said he's definitely in there." said Spencer.

"He's got a green Ford Explorer in the garage." said Morgan.

"Break down the door." ordered Gideon.

"No. We don't have probable cause." said Detective Russet.

"He's got a green SUV. He had a dog that died recently. He spends time in the park." said Morgan.

"Pretending he's not home." said Hotch.

"None of which are illegal. No judge is going to sign a warrant based on that information." said Detective Russet.

"You're weighing the life of a child against the price of a door?" asked Gideon.

"I'm weighing the law against the price of a door." said Detective Russet.

"The girl's in the house right now. The longer we stand here, the longer he has to finish her off." said Gideon as his voice rose.

"I'll call a judge. If we go in there without a warrant, all that evidence will get thrown-" said Detective Russet as she pressed her phone to her ear.

"We're aware of the rules of evidence. What do you propose that we do?" asked Hotch.

"We tow his car, we impound it, and we search it." said Detective Russet as Gideon started running towards the house causing Spencer, Hotch, Morgan, and Detective Russet to run after him.

"Gideon! Gideon, wait a minute! Gideon! Gideon, you need." said Morgan as Gideon used a large flower pot to break a window before climbing through it making Morgan to kick down the door causing Spencer to enter the house with Hotch, Morgan, and Detective Russet into the house.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning at sunrise Spencer was celebrating finding Billie safely by playing poker with Hotch, JJ, Morgan, and Gideon.

"I got absolutely nothing." said Morgan as he laid down his hand of cards.

"Aw, nothing." said JJ as she laid down her cards.

Spencer looked at his hand and smirked.

"Sss...2 pair... Of aces." smirked Spencer as he laid down his cards.

"Oh, get outta town! Why you always winning? Nuh-uh!" said Morgan as he slapped Spencer's shoulder.

"'cause he cheats." said JJ.

"Poker? It's mathematics, it's statistics." said Spencer.

"He's from Vegas." said a smiling Hotch.

"House rules." said Morgan.

"There's that. Too." said Spencer.

"All right, shuffle." said JJ.

Gideon looked towards Hotch.

"Hey, Hotch." said Gideon.

"Yeah?" asked Hotch.

"Did you send flowers to that tech room girl... Garcia...and say they were from me?" asked Gideon.

"Yeah." said Hotch.

"Why?" asked Gideon.

"Jason, people need to know that they're important, and sometimes you forget that." said Hotch as he thought about Clarissa telling him about how Spencer would occasionally pamper her.

"I already sent her a gift. An MP3 player. They last longer. Unless you drop them or the battery dies, whichever comes first." said Gideon as he noticed the amused glances that Spencer, JJ, and Morgan were giving each other, "So she got 2 gifts. What if she thinks I'm sweet on her?" asked Gideon.

Spencer, Morgan, Hotch, and JJ all chuckled at the face that Elle made before all four adults decided to resume their poker game.

"Do not cheat Reid." said Morgan.

"I'm not going to make any promises." smirked Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer grinned when he pulled into the driveway the same time as Clarissa, and less than a minute later Spencer and Clarissa were kissing each other in the garage.

"I'm so glad that you, Aaron, Jason, and the rest of the team found that girl alive." said Clarissa.

"So am I." said Spencer as he kissed his wife again, "We have our own little girl who's sleeping safely in her bed, so we should go inside since Lucy's going to wake up Diana soon." said Spencer.

"So do you have to go back to work today?" asked Clarissa.

"With having to pull an all-nighter I have the day off, and paperwork will wait until tomorrow." said Spencer.

"So after breakfast should we take a shower together and go to bed?" asked Clarissa as she winked at her husband.

Spencer nodded as his stomach growled.

"Let's go inside and start breakfast." said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were making breakfast and coffee together, and as soon as they placed breakfast onto the table Lucy came into the kitchen with Diana on her hip.

"Mommy! Daddy!" exclaimed Diana as Lucy set her down so she could hug her parents.

"Hey there Diana." said Spencer as he swooped up his daughter and hugged her before Clarissa had a turn.

A few minutes later the Reid family and Lucy were sitting a the kitchen table eating breakfast.

"Do you have to go back to the BAU today?" asked Lucy.

"I have the day off." said Spencer.

"What about catching up on sleep?" asked Lucy.

"Been up for 24 hours so you can probably figure out that I will be heading to bed soon." said Spencer.

"No pway wit me?" asked Diana.

"Daddy didn't get any sleep last night, baby girl, so I need to get some sleep just like mommy." said Spencer.

"OK." sighed Diana.

Lucy looked at Diana.

"You don't want to play with me?" asked Lucy as she pouted at her young charge causing Spencer and Clarissa to chuckle.

"I like pway wit you." said Diana.

"What do you say about spending the entire day out of the house so mommy and daddy can catch up some sleep?" asked Lucy.

"OK." said Diana.

20 minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were taking a shower together, and after spending a half hour in the shower, Spencer and Clarissa were getting ready for bed.

"Before we get some sleep, I wanted to talk to you about teaching Diana about not talking to strangers while eventually signing her up for karate so she can defend herself." said Spencer.

"I've been thinking about that too especially since she could become a target because of you and Aaron." said Clarissa.

"At least Chief Strauss agreed to keep information on you and Diana out of your brother's and my personal files." said Spencer.

"When she visited after Diana's birth I was glad that she offered to do that." said Clarissa.

"Me too." said Spencer before yawning.

Clarissa looked at the alarm clock that stated that it was 8:30 AM despite the room darkening curtains that they already drew shut so the sunlight wouldn't bother them.

"We should definitely get some sleep because Lucy is going to wake us up at lunchtime so we can eat before catching up on more sleep." said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were fast asleep in each other's arms.


	28. Riding the Lightning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to skip Poison and go straight to Riding the Lightning because of one of Sarah Dawes's lines.

Spencer was sorting through his go bag when Clarissa exited the bathroom wearing only purple lingerie.

"Almost done sorting through your go bag?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer turned around and he groaned when he saw what Clarissa was wearing.

"Just finished sorting through it." said Spencer as he put his go bag by the bedroom door.

A few seconds later Spencer and Clarissa were passionately making out in bed.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was in an SUV with Hotch, Elle, and Garcia as they headed to Florida State Penitentiary.

"There is nothing about the dynamics of Sarah Jean and Jacob's relationship." said Spencer as he continued to read the file.

"The state isn't interested in dynamics or profiles, they just want this case to go away." said Elle as she continued to focus on the road.

"They were caught, they confessed, they got the death penalty." said Hotch.

"You guys do realize that visiting death rows is not part of my job description?" asked Garcia.

"Garcia, this will be the first serial killer couple ever recorded for VICAP." said Spencer excitably.

Garcia looked at Spencer.

"They slaughtered 13 young girls with blond hair, hello?!" said Garcia as she pointed at her blonde hair.

Spencer looked at the picture of the two-year-old boy that has been proclaimed dead causing him to think about his own two-year-old girl back home.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Garcia was getting a countdown timer set up on one of the computers she was given to use while Morgan briefed everyone.

"1985, there's a string of missing girls reported in Northern Florida. Police subsequently got an anonymous call from a woman claiming to have seen Jacob with some of the girls." said Morgan as Spencer got up.

"Did they ever find out who the anonymous woman was?" asked JJ.

"No." said Spencer.

"Police interviewed Jacob Dawes, also present with Sarah Jean Dawes and their 2-year-old son Riley. Police was suspicious they came back 3 hours later with a search warrant only to find that Riley had vanished. They also eventually found the dismembered bodies of 12 missing girls buried in the ground underneath Jacob's workshop." said Hotch as he thought about his two year old niece who was safe with her nanny.

"Fearing that the police were on to them Jacob figured Riley would slow them down so he ordered Sarah Jean to kill him and dispose of the body." said Spencer as he tried to keep his anger under control.

"Sarah confessed to killing Riley but never admitted her role on the deaths of the girls." said Gideon.

"Ya, but she never denied it either." said Elle as she ended up thinking about the little girl that attached herself to her whenever she was invited for dinner at Spencer's and Clarissa's.

"Well according to Jacob, Sarah Jean was fully complicit in the targeting abduction, and murder of all 12 and well, now 13 victims." said Morgan.

"Prison records show that Jacob is a sexual psychopath. It were inconclusive on Sarah Jean though, they said her demeanor was more like that of a war victims?" asked Spencer.

"And as with all sexual psychopaths, Jacob is obsessed with the idea of the total possession of his victims. He's shown no remorse or guilt." said Hotch.

"Oh, well, Jacob saw Sarah Jean as a possession, somebody to control, to dominate." said Gideon.

"Just so we're clear, they have agreed to these interviews?" asked Sam Shapiro.

"Yes sir." said Gideon.

"Oh, wait, I'm sorry, who are you exactly?" asked Elle.

"I'm Sam Shapiro, their appeal's attorney." said Sam.

"Not only have they agreed to them, they were initially requested by them." said Hotch as he passed Sam some papers.

"Ya, I can't get them a stay of execution." said Sam.

"Garcia, remember 75% of all communication-" said Gideon.

"Is non-verbal." said Garcia.

"Hotch interview Jacob, Morgan, Elle-" said Gideon.

"I'm not going to get anything new but..." interrupted Hotch.

"Well, find out a way to ask." said Gideon as he handed Morgan some papers, "696 Hennessy Street, Jacob and Sarah Jean's home stood for demolition. Take a look around." said Gideon.

"OK." said Elle.

xxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was following Gideon and Warden Diehl towards the cell that Sarah Jean was in.

"We call this the 'dead man valley'." said Warden Diehl.

"Did she have any contact with Jacob?" asked Gideon.

"Well, until today she's declined contact with anyone. For her own safety, we keep her away from the other prisoners. The hate for this woman is as fresh today, as it was 15 years ago." said Warden Diehl before looking at a guard, "Open on 4."

The doors to Sarah's cell opened allowing Gideon to step inside as Spencer noticed some paintings.

"Accomplished work." said Gideon.

"I've had plenty of time." said Sarah before turning around to see Gideon with a young man, "What is it that you want to know?" asked Sarah.

"I think it's time the mothers of those girls learn why their children had to die. Don't you?" asked Gideon before he introduced himself and Spencer.

Sarah looked at Spencer.

"How old are you Dr. Reid?" asked Sarah.

"24." said Spencer as he thought about how glad he is to have his wedding band hidden on a chain around his neck.

A few minutes later Spencer, Gideon, and a female guard was taking Sarah to an interview room as Sarah looked at Spencer.

"A doctor, so young. Your mother must be very proud." said Sarah.

Before Spencer could answer Jacob was on the other side of the gate.

"Sarah Jean! You look so fine, baby cakes. This was meant to be, our names will live forever! Let's go. It's a beautiful thing!" said Jacob.

"Let's go!" ordered Hotch as he saw some sadness in Spencer's eyes causing him to make a mental note to talk to Gideon.

"Listen, it's a beautiful thing!" shouted Jacob before he was led away.

"You designed that to happen. Did you learn anything, agent?" asked Sarah.

A few minutes later Spencer was sitting next to Gideon as Gideon lead the interview with Sarah.

"So what did you see in Jacob?" asked Gideon.

"Freedom." answered Sarah.

"Freedom from what?" asked Spencer as he thought about how Sarah looked like his mom when it came to blonde hair and blue eyes.

A few seconds later Spencer was hearing Elle's voice through the earwig that he was given so he could communicate with his teammates.

"We're at the mother's house. She gave me a letter. I want to read to you." said Elle.

"Read the letter, Elle." instructed Gideon.

"What?" asked Sarah.

Spencer saw the questioning look on Sarah's face.

"Mom, I know how difficult this must be. Things between us were never what they should be between a mother and a daughter." said Elle into Spencer's ear as Spencer listened to Gideon.

"That is a private letter." said Sarah as she stood up.

"Most important part of me is now in a better place than you and I will ever be." said Gideon.

"Stop it!" exclaimed Sarah as she removed the earwig from Gideon's ear.

Spencer continued to recite what Elle was reading to him and Gideon.

"Death of those girls. I neglected my duties as a woman and as a mother." recited Spencer.

Before Sarah could make her way to Spencer who stepped aside, Gideon grabbed her.

"Stop it!" exclaimed Sarah.

"Take it easy." said Gideon as he put Sarah's hands behind her back before the female guard helped him get a crying Sarah seated, "Neglected your duty? That doesn't make you responsible. You didn't kill those girls. Why didn't you say this in court?" asked Gideon gently.

"I know he brought women back to his workshop." said Sarah.

"It's a long way from knowing he was killing them." said Spencer.

"They died as a result of my neglect." said Sarah.

"This letter suggests to me, that an innocent woman is about to be executed for crime she did not commit." said Gideon.

A few minutes later Spencer and Gideon were with Garcia, Sam, and Warden Diehl listening to the recording that Spencer and Gideon made from their interview.

"I could tell you right now, it's not enough to get a stay." said Sam.

"Well, facts. Reid." said Gideon as he gave Spencer his cue.

"Human sexuality is a complex dynamic of three components. Biological, physiological, and emotional. Jacob's needs were informed by the emotional, sexual abuse that he received at the hand of his mother." said Spencer.

"Long term repetitive abuse informed the template of his love map. Something we refer to as a signature. Jacob was an only child-" said Gideon.

"Thus he was alone when the abused occurred. So in order for him to fulfill his fantasy he has got to be alone with his victims." said Spencer just as they heard Jacob who was being interviewed by Hotch.

"If I told you that what would I have left for myself?" asked Jacob.

"He said myself. If Sarah Jean was present, it would have destroyed his fantasy." said Gideon.

"She confessed to killing her son." said Warden Diehl.

"Yes, true. But we are also convinced that she is the anonymous caller that made the phone call that nailed Jacob." said Spencer.

"Guilt-ridden, filled with remorse, she called the police. It's not the profile of a woman who would then kill a child." said Gideon.

"What else do you need?" asked Spencer.

"Evidence." said Sam.

"If we prove Jacob killed Riley, would that get a stay?" asked Gideon.

"Absolutely." said Sam.

Gideon looked at the monitor that contained live feed of Sarah's cell and noticed Sarah taking a painting off the wall.

"She protects the painting, she protects the boy." said Gideon.

"What?" asked Sam.

"Paintings are her statement. We need to figure out what they say." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxxxx

A couple of hours later Spencer was outside calling Clarissa.

"How's it going?" asked Clarissa.

"I prefer yours and Lucy's cooking over prison food." said Spencer.

Clarissa laughed.

"Sometimes I prefer your cooking, but what do you want for dinner when you get home?" asked Clarissa.

"Can we have chicken stir fry?" asked Spencer.

"Chicken stir fry it is." said Clarissa.

"Is Diana awake?" asked Spencer.

"Lucy's giving her a bath right now since Lucy told me that I should have a bubble bath." said Clarissa just as she heard giggling and pitter patter of little feet and Lucy shouting.

"Get back here Diana!" exclaimed Lucy in the background.

Spencer chuckled.

"Terrible twos are in full swing." joked Spencer.

"I know, and it seems like Diana is just like me when it came to terrible twos." giggled Clarissa just before little Diana entered the bedroom causing Clarissa to laugh when she saw her giggling daughter naked, "Daddy's on the phone, and he won't be happy when he finds out that you are streaking instead of taking a bath." said Clarissa.

"Put her on." said Spencer.

"OK." said Clarissa as she put her phone on speaker, "Your now on speaker." said Clarissa.

"Hi daddy." said Diana.

"I hear that your being naughty right now." said Spencer sternly.

"Sowwy daddy." said Diana.

"You need to listen to your nanny, young lady." said Spencer.

"OK daddy." sighed Diana.

"Daddy has to get back to work." said Spencer.

"You come home soon?" asked Diana.

"I should be home hopefully tomorrow night when your asleep, but I have to get back to work." said Spencer.

"Wuv you daddy." said Diana.

"I love you too." said Spencer.

"Am I chopped liver?" asked Clarissa.

"I love you." said Spencer.

"Love you too." said Clarissa before hanging up.

xxxxxxxx

The next day Spencer was in the tech room when Garcia looked at her teammates.

"Guys, the body's ID is coming through." said Garcia.

A few seconds later Spencer saddened when he saw that the body that Morgan and Elle found was a 14-year-old girl.

"It's not Riley Dawes. It's Ashley Farley. She was 14 when she was killed." said Garcia sadly.

"Why would Jacob give us another victim? He completely goes against his need for power manipulation and control." said Spencer as he worked hard on keeping his voice neutral.

"Taking the secret of an old victim to his grave satisfies that need." said Gideon as he thought about how Spencer was trying to keep it together due to having a two year old daughter back home.

"Why give it up? I mean, what's the payoff?" asked Spencer.

"Sarah Jean's the payoff. Sarah Jean will be his last victim. And be the ultimate of control." said Gideon as he looked at the live feed that showed him Sarah's cell.

Garcia was looking at the computer before noticing something.

"Gideon, check this out. Guess who used to be the Farley's house cleaner." said Garcia.

Gideon took one look at the computer before storming out of the room.

xxxxxxxxxxx

When Gideon was back in the room, he looked at Garcia.

"Garcia, pull up the interview with Sarah Jean." said Gideon.

"What is it?" asked Spencer as he headed closer to Gideon and Garcia.

"Exodus 2:3." said Gideon as he thought about how Spencer knew the Bible.

"Moses." said Spencer.

"Hebrew sons were supposed to be drown. Moses's mother sent him down an isle in a basket." said Gideon as the interview feed started playing.

"Where's he buried?" asked Gideon.

"All that matters is that he's safe." said Sarah.

"Where is he?" asked Gideon.

"He's in a better place." said Sarah.

Gideon looked at his teammates.

"Jacob didn't bury Riley anywhere. Because Sarah Jean had already taken care of him." said Gideon.

"Then she did kill him." said JJ.

Spencer instantly understood what Gideon meant.

"No, she sent him somewhere where she believed he'd be safe." said Spencer.

"He's alive." said Garcia as she started typing.

"We're running out of time. This is the proof we need to save Sarah Jean." said Gideon.

"Give me some ideas to help me find Riley." said Garcia.

"Check all police and hospital records dating back to September 1990." instructed Gideon.

Garcia started typing.

"You know, you should check local newspapers to see if anyone reported any abandoned babies." said Spencer as Sam who was on the phone entered the room.

"Ya, I don't give a damn where the governor is, we may have found proof that Sarah Jean is innocent." said Sam.

Spencer instantly used his eidetic memory to recall the day of Sarah's and Jacob's arrest.

"She really only had a maximum of 3 hours between police visits. It was 4 PM so traffic was pretty heavy. Whatever she did with Riley had to be local." said Spencer as he thought about how he overheard his uncle talking to his aunt about Sarah and Jacob.

"1990, three babies where abandoned in September." said Garcia.

"3-year-old boys?" asked Gideon.

"None." said Garcia as she sank back in her chair.

"Why doesn't she just tell us where Riley is?" asked Spencer.

"She'll protect him for as long as Jacob is alive." said Gideon.

"Look, they are being executed within an hour of each other what hope do we even have to finding him in time?" asked JJ.

"You know, it's quite possible, she doesn't even know where he is anyway." said Spencer.

"No, she knows. We've got to get into her cell." said Gideon before leaving the room.

xxxxxxxxx

Gideon came back with a photo and after it was scanned Garcia looked at the newspaper clipping and the photo of two-year-old Riley.

"That's Riley. It's her son, isn't it? Someone tell me it's him, please." said Garcia.

Hotch handed the photo to JJ.

"JJ circulate this photo to the press. See if anybody recognizes this boy." said Hotch.

"Do I say who we think he is?" asked JJ as she looked at the photo.

"No just put him out as the missing persons." said Hotch.

"OK." said JJ just as the computer beeped. "What does that mean?" asked JJ.

Spencer watched the cell door open on the monitor.

"It means Jacob is being moved to the execution chamber." said Spencer as he dropped the photo onto the table before Hotch left the room.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was examining the newspaper clipping.

"She cut around the photo so no one can read the text. He was 2 when he disappeared. This boy is 16 or 17. If he's Riley, it would mean it's a recent photo." said Spencer.

"Once Jacob's dead, you think Sarah Jean would tell us if this is Riley?" asked JJ causing Gideon to leave the room.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Gideon returned.

"Only people Jacob allowed Sarah Jean to know were the family she cleaned for." said Gideon.

"Sarah Jean worked for wealthy families all over Hampton. Let's go over all the families in the state of Florida who were looking to adopt in 1990 and let's see how many lived in Hampton." said Hotch.

"Families looking to adopt, hundreds." said Garcia.

"How many from Hampton?" asked Gideon.

"Uh... 3 families. The James's, the Coulfied's and the Sheffield's." said Garcia.

"Looks like the Sheffield's removed themselves from the list in October 1990 and then moved out of Hampton." said JJ.

"That's one month after Riley vanished where did they go?" asked Gideon.

"Uh... Keystone Heights. We got a match on the photo. It was in a local daily news." said Garcia.

Gideon quickly left the room.

"Call Morgan and Elle, tell them to get to the Sheffield's house." said Hotch before trailing after Gideon.

"Byran Sheffield." said Spencer.

"Local cello prodigy 17-year-old Byran Sheffield won a scholarship to play cello." said a smiling Garcia.

Spencer instantly thought about how Sarah was proud of her little boy causing him to think about the times he's been told that his parents, aunt Ethel, and uncle Gordon would be proud of the young man he turned into.

xxxxxxxxxx

A couple of hours later Spencer who was sitting away from the rest of the team at the small table reached into his messenger bag and pulled out the photo album that his mom started in high school just as Hotch sat down across from him.

"I had a feeling that you would be joining me soon." said Spencer quietly as he paged through the photo album.

"Gideon told me about what Sarah said." said Hotch quietly.

"Its just whenever someone brings up about my mother being proud at me for being a doctor at my age I always end up looking through this photo album when I have a chance." said Spencer as he continued to go through the photo album.

"There are some days that I miss my mom too." said Hotch before looking at a picture of a tightrope walker that had a picture of a young Spencer's head glued on, "Why is your head on that picture of a tightrope walker?" asked an amused Hotch.

Spencer chuckled as he thought about how his uncle told him about why he had a small scar on his hand.

"Three months before mom and dad died, they took me to the circus for first time. With how much fun I had, I decided that I wanted to become a tightrope walker when I grow up." said Spencer as he started to explain about trying to walk across the backyard fence before falling down.

Hotch briefly smiled as he thought about how his niece was already taking after her father when it came to intelligence while having her mother's personality.

"I always wondered about why you had that small scar on your hand." said Hotch as he looked at the scar on Spencer's hand before continuing, "So how do you remember that day?" asked Hotch.

"Mom wrote about that day in that day in her journal, and you already know that I inherited them along with the books that belonged to my parents." said Spencer before turning the next page of the photo album causing Hotch to decide to stay with Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxx

The next day Spencer was playing his cello that once belonged to his mom when Diana approached him.

"Why you cwying daddy?" asked Diana as she noticed the tears that were falling from her daddy's face.

Spencer looked at his two-year-old daughter as he placed his mother's old cello into its case.

"Its just one of these days that I miss your grandma Diana." said Spencer as he pulled his daughter onto his lap, "Do you want to know why your named Diana?" asked Spencer.

"Yes." said Diana as her shoulder length brown curly hair bounced.

"I told your mommy that if we ever have a beautiful little girl like you, I would want to name you Diana after your grandma." said Spencer before chuckling, "Mommy agreed since Diana Barry from the children's book "Anne of Green Gables" is your mommy's favorite character." said Spencer.

"Can we pwease read?" asked Diana.

"We sure can baby girl, and when your grandma Diana and grandpa William were alive your grandma Diana loved reading to me." said Spencer as he got up and carried Diana upstairs to their home library was located, "Do you have to go to the bathroom before I read to you?" asked Spencer.

"Yes." said Diana.

Over seven minutes later Diana ended up picking out "Anne of Green Gables" causing Spencer to read "Anne of Green Gables" to his daughter.


	29. Unfinished Business

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spencer's eidetic memory got court certified after Spencer had his first IQ test, and I hope you readers love the hidden stairway that leads to the attic that Spencer decided to be turned into his home office.
> 
> Spencer and Clarissa will never argue about Spencer's job like Haley and Hotch did because Clarissa works a demanding job as a pediatric nurse so sometimes she's asked to drop everything when another nurse can't make his or her shift.

Spencer and Clarissa smiled as they ice skated at their favorite indoor skating rink.

"I just love it when we spend Valentines Day going ice skating." said Clarissa.

"I enjoy ice skating as long as I'm skating with you." said Spencer.

"Should we head home so we can take a bubble bath together before we get some sleep since we both have work tomorrow?" asked Clarissa.

"Yeah." said Spencer.

A half hour later Spencer and Clarissa were in their bathroom taking a bubble bath together while being grateful that Lucy insisted on having Diana have a sleepover with her in her little cottage.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

A week and a half later Spencer was sitting on the bed as he watched Clarissa put on her scrubs.

"I'm sorry about having to go into work tonight." said Clarissa as she thought about getting called in since one of the nurses ended up coming down with the stomach flu.

"I'm not upset because I'm basically on call 24/7 too." said Spencer.

"At least we both agreed about not fighting over our jobs since we both wanted to help save lives for a living." said Clarissa.

"I know." grinned Spencer as he got up and kissed his wife, "At least we had a family dinner before your pager went off." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was standing by the front window with Diana on his hip as they waved to Clarissa who was pulling out of the driveway.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer looked at Diana as he tucked her into bed.

"Ready to continue the adventures of Anne Shirley?" asked Spencer.

"Yes daddy." said Diana.

Spencer grabbed "Anne of Green Gables" and started reading where they left off, and as soon as Diana was asleep, Spencer grabbed the baby monitor and headed downstairs only to see Lucy cleaning up.

"I was just about to come downstairs to clean up." said Spencer.

"I know." said Lucy.

"Thank you for taking care of everything down here while I focused on Diana." said Spencer.

"Its not a problem, Spencer. Do you need me anymore tonight?" asked Lucy.

"Not that I know of, but right now I'm planning on heading to the attic to work on the three consults that I brought home yesterday before I head to bed." said Spencer.

"Call me if you need anything." said Lucy as she headed to the back door.

A few minutes later Spencer was heading upstairs to his and Clarissa's home library where he walked to one of the deeper bookcases that was already there when he and Clarissa moved in and pulled it open causing him to flick on a light switch so he could head up the stairs to his home office where he already placed the three consults that he brought home the day before.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was woken up by the ringing of his cellphone causing him to quickly answer it.

"Dr. Reid." said Spencer sleepily.

"We have a case and I will be picking you up in 15 minutes." said Hotch before hanging up.

"OK." said Spencer as he fumbled for his glasses and put them on before getting out of bed so he could grab the land line and contact Lucy who told him that she would be there in five minutes.

15 minutes later Spencer was getting into the front seat of Hotch's car.

"Sorry about calling you in." said Hotch as he watched his youngest agent who was wearing his glasses buckle up.

"Its OK since Clarissa ended up getting called in while we were eating desert, and other than spending some time with Diana before tucking her in at 8 PM, I was able to get the consults that I brought home done before getting at least five hours of sleep." said Spencer.

"At least you and Clarissa were able to find a nanny who is willing to live with you guys." said Hotch as he pulled out of the driveway.

"I know, and Clarissa and I both agreed to never argue about our jobs since there are times that Clarissa's on call 24/7 like me, and tonight was one of those nights." said Spencer.

"Well at least you will get to meet one of the founders of the BAU that you never got to meet yet." said Hotch.

"I take it that I will be meeting Max Ryan since Gideon was going to Max Ryan's book signing?" asked Spencer.

"The very one." said Hotch.

Spencer grinned as he pulled out his phone and sent Clarissa a text message.

I ENDED UP GETTING CALLED IN FOR A CASE, AND LUCKILY I GET TO MEET MAX RYAN! ~ SR

A few minutes later Spencer's phone vibrated causing him to read a text message from Clarissa.

STAY SAFE, AND RIGHT NOW ITS PRACTICALLY A GHOST TOWN IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM SO THE HEAD NURSE IS GOING TO LET ME GET SOME SLEEP ON THE COUCH IN THE BREAK ROOM. ~ CR

xxxxxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer exited the elevator with Hotch, Morgan, and Elle.

"So they've been here all night?" asked Morgan.

"Apparently." said Hotch.

"Where else would any of us be on a Saturday night? It's not like we have lives or anything." said Elle as she thought about knowing that Spencer has a wife and child to go home to just like Hotch.

"Speak for yourself." said Morgan.

"Guys, we are about to meet Max Ryan, the guy responsible for catching the Boise child killer." said Spencer before looking at his brother-in-law, "Have you ever talked to him before?" asked Spencer.

"He's pretty intense, brusque. Not much of a bedside manner." said Hotch.

"Sound like anyone else we know?" asked Elle as she put her purse on her desk.

"I heard he was forced into early retirement." said Morgan.

"No, he chose to retire." said Hotch.

Spencer removed his jacket as he talked.

"He's written a new book on the Keystone Killer case." said Spencer as he draped his jacket over his chair.

Hotch who was waiting for Spencer, Elle, and Morgan to remove their jackets and put bags down spoke up.

"He moved to Philadelphia to be closer to the crime scenes." said Hotch.

"That's retirement?" asked Elle as she, Spencer, and Morgan followed Hotch to the conference room.

"BAU style." said Morgan.

A few minutes later Spencer was looking at the blown up word search puzzle that Max Ryan received on the monitor.

"Who in his mind has not probed the black water"? John Steinbeck, East of Eden." said Spencer as Gideon handed him the evidence bag that contained the word search puzzle.

"Story of good and evil, love and hate." said Gideon.

"There's been some new activity on the Keystone Killer case." said Max.

"New?" asked Elle.

"He was in Max's lecture last night." said Gideon.

"What? He got away?" asked Morgan.

"Would we have woken you up if we caught him?" asked Max.

"He handed this letter to the security guard." said Gideon.

"And he included two drivers' licenses with it." said Max as Gideon pulled up the pictures that were taken.

"One is from his last victim." said Gideon.

"Last known victim." corrected Max.

Spencer looked at the word search puzzle that he was given and as he was mouthing to himself he allowed his mind to show the answers that popped out to him.

"Amy Jennings, strangled in 1987." said Gideon before noticing the look on his protege's face, "Do you see something?" asked Gideon.

"Ya, what is the significance of black bra and grey wool socks?" asked Spencer.

"That's what Amy Jennings was wearing when we found her." said Max.

"That's a lot of detail to remember for 20 years. Green River killer couldn't remember where the bodies were buried much less what they were wearing." said Morgan.

"Well, some unsubs take pictures and print them themselves so they can manipulate the scene, bring it to life. That would explain the level of detail." said Hotch before Spencer noticed something else on the word search puzzle.

"Does "no fight in the rear window" have anything to do with the Jennings case?" asked Spencer.

"No. He entered in through the front door. There's ample evidence that Amy fought him very hard. Now he's referring to a new victim there." said Max.

"The second driver's license." said Elle.

"Carla Bromwell." said Gideon.

Spencer quickly noticed the name of the newest victim.

"Ya, there is a C. Bromwell here in the puzzle." said Spencer.

"Philly PD went to the address on the license a little while ago. Found her suffocated with a plastic bag." said Gideon.

"Suffocated? His previous victims were strangled. His MO's different." said Morgan.

"He hasn't been killing all along, has he?" asked Elle.

"It would have been difficult to tie these new murders to the Keystone Killer what with the change of the methodology and the time that's elapsed between kills." said Hotch.

"If he'd been active, I would have known." said Max.

"It's not entirely impossible for an unsub to switch he's M. O. The Zodiac Killer went from stabbing people to shooting them." said Spencer.

"Yes, but he wanted to take the credit. This bastard didn't do anything in secret." said Max as JJ entered the room.

"I'd say good morning but, it's still dark outside." said JJ as she placed a crime scene photo on the table.

"Who's this?" asked Morgan as he looked at the photo.

"Carla Bromwell." said JJ before looking at Gideon," Uh! Gideon, can you put it on the news?" asked JJ.

A few seconds later everyone was watching the news.

"The Philadelphia police were notified late last night of a letter that was hand delivered to this news station. Apparently it was written by the  
infamous Keystone Killer, who's wanted in connection with the murders of 7 women back in the late 1980's. He also included a photograph of a woman. She appears to be dead in the photo, suffocated with a plastic bag. Now, subsequently police discovered a body in the Overbrook area. But they are not confirming that it's the woman in this picture." said the reporter.

Hotch looked at his watch as the TV was turned off.

"He works fast." said Hotch.

"It's an understatement, isn't it?" asked Gideon.

Hotch got up.

"Meet you on the plane in 30 minutes." said Hotch as he left the room.

"I'm coming with you. I'm not asking, Jason." said Max.

A few minutes later Spencer was at his desk grabbing his book by Max Ryan when his cellphone vibrated causing him to see a text from Elle.

HOW DID CLARISSA TAKE YOU GETTING CALLED IN? ~ EG

Spencer quickly typed a reply.

SHE GOT CALLED IN AT 6:30 YESTERDAY EVENING SINCE ONE OF THE NURSES WHO WORKS THIRD SHIFT ON THE WEEKENDS CAME DOWN WITH THE STOMACH FLU, AND LUCY HAD NO PROBLEM BEING WOKEN UP. ~ SR

A few seconds later Spencer was sending Clarissa a quick text message.

GOING TO PHILADELPHIA. ~ SR

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was heading up some stairs with his brother-in-law as he snapped on his gloves.

"What do you think of Ryan?" asked Spencer.

"He hasn't changed much." said Hotch.

"I think we can learn a lot from him." said Spencer.

"What could you possibly learn that you don't already know?" asked an amused Hotch as they entered a room.

"Hotch, repetitive thinking is the death nail for the brain. For complete brain usage diverse stimulation is the key." said Spencer as he noticed another word search puzzle on a desk, "Look at this." said Spencer as he passed the word search puzzle to his brother in law so he could open up an evidence bag.

"Let's go show this to everyone." said Hotch as he placed the crossword puzzle into the bag that Spencer opened up.

30 seconds later Spencer followed Hotch into the room that Gideon, Max, Morgan, and Elle were in.

"Found another note." said Hotch.

"Let me see that." said Max as he took the puzzle from Hotch.

"In order for the light to shine so brightly the darkness must be present." read Max.

"He's quoting Sir Francis Bacon now." said Gideon.

"I used this specific quote on- -." said Max.

"On your book on page 184." said Spencer as he noticed the look that Max was giving him, "I read it on the plane." said Spencer.

"And you remember the page number of the quote?" asked Max as he thought about how Spencer didn't participate during briefing on the jet since he was busy reading.

Before Morgan could speak up, Spencer quickly spoke.

"I have a court certified eidetic memory." said Spencer as he thought back to how his uncle made sure that his memory was certified by the courts when they were told that he has an eidetic memory.

Max gave Spencer an impressed look.

"He says to expect another gift in 2 days." said Hotch.

"A gift?" asked Elle.

"Calls his victims gifts." said Gideon.

"Gifts for whom?" asked Elle.

"For me." said Max.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day Spencer was standing with his teammates in front of officers in the Philadelphia police department.

"A lot of things have changed in 20 years including the age of the Keystone Killer's victims." said Hotch.

"He's older. His victims are older. Makes sense to me." said Detective Santangelo.

"Most unsubs have specific fantasies. This is as if there killing the same person over and over again. This man clearly had a preference for young brunettes, and now he's switched to older women." said Hotch.

"Well, what does that mean?" asked Detective Santangelo.

"Ted Bundy only killed women that looked like his fiancee. But then, he devolved and brutally attacked a house full of sorority sisters that looked nothing like his previous victims. He went off script. His final victim was a 12 year old girl. When the police found the van that he used to kill her, the amount of blood revealed that he had lost complete control. It was that devolution that eventually led to his capture." said Spencer.

"He could be devolving into frenzy." said Gideon.

"So you mean he's about to mess up." said Detective Santangelo.

"Keystone Killer's devolution is only a theory. We need to be prepared for anything." said Morgan.

"And if he is in a frenzy, there's no telling how quickly he'll fall apart." said Gideon.

"Or how many more victims he'll take with him. So, we're going to go over anything we know, old and new, and hopefully we find him before we find another body." said Hotch.

"We'll start with agent Ryan's original profile. Max, you want to present it?" asked Gideon as he looked at his old mentor.

"No." said Max before leaving the room.

"We're looking for a white male in his late 40's. The controlled crime scenes, the meticulousness and the collection of trophies suggest a possible military background." started Hotch as Gideon trailed after Max.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was focusing on the latest word search puzzle circling clues as he listened to his teammates.

"All right, let's focus on the differences in the crimes. What's he doing that's new?" asked Hotch.

"Well, his latest victim was hit in the head. That's new." said Elle as Hotch sat down.

"In the word puzzle he said she didn't fight. So, why hit her? Scare her? Show her he's in charge?" asked Morgan.

"Well, he never did that before." said Hotch.

"And a blow that hard wouldn't scare her, probably just." said Elle.

"Probably just knock her unconscious." said Morgan.

"In order to control her?" asked Hotch.

Gideon who was looking at crime scene photos spoke up.

"Why switch from ropes to flex-cuffs? The intricate knot was a part of his signature." said Gideon.

"Flex-cuffs are easier. Probably saved him time." said Morgan.

Gideon turned around.

"No no no, there's more than that. The rope was meticulously tied, it was intimate, completely unnecessary." said Gideon.

"And he abandoned the rope and the use of his bare hands which makes his kills less personal and less controlling." said Elle.

"Okay. Seriously, guys, let's just abandon all this. Let's just treat him like he's a new offender." said Morgan.

"He isn't." said Gideon.

Spencer instantly noticed something on the word puzzle causing him to speak up.

"Guys, I have a name." said Spencer as he circled what he found again.

Everyone turned around.

"Nibrahs. That's a name? From what country?" asked Elle as she thought about seeing all the books in Spencer's house causing him to tell her that he learned how to read in many languages.

"It's backwards. S. Harbin. And there was a Scott Harbin on Ryan's original suspect list." said Spencer.

Max who was standing in the doorway spoke up.

"It's not Scott Harbin. Harbin went to jail in 1988 for stabbing a guy while he was trying to escape during a home invasion. The guy later died. Harbin didn't even know there was anyone at home at the time he broke in." said Max.

"How long did he get?" asked Morgan.

"30 years." answered Max.

"So it makes him a little more than a half way done." said Gideon.

"Unless he's been paroled." said Hotch.

"No. No, it's too easy. I interviewed Harbin, twice. He's a pervert. He's a small time burglar with a fetish for lingerie. I mean he's a creep. But he is not the Keystone Killer. Believe me. Our guy has not been in jail for all these years." said Max.

Morgan started getting up.

"All right, I'm going to call Garcia. See what she can dig up on this guy." said Morgan.

"He's not the guy." said Max.

As soon as Morgan and Max left the room, Hotch looked at Gideon.

"Jason, what are we doing here?" asked Hotch.

"What do you mean?" asked Gideon.

"Well, is Ryan interested in catching the Keystone Killer, or just proving he's right?" asked Hotch before Gideon left the room.

xxxxxxxxxxx

A couple of hours later Spencer was back at the police station with his team.

"Well, that's got to be a first. A killer actually leading us to another killer." said Morgan.

"Come on. We all know they make the best profilers. They admire each other's work." said Gideon.

"Ya, but usually from the far." said Elle as they entered the conference room that they were borrowing.

"At least we got Harbin off the street. All right, let's review. What do we know about the Keystone Killer?" asked Hotch.

"Well, we know that he's not dead or in jail." stated Elle.

"Enjoys taunting the game." said Gideon.

"Ya, he's in complete control." said Morgan as he sat down.

"He strangled 7 women in the 1980's, stopped for 18 years, and then began again suffocating them. 10% of all violent crimes are caused by strangulation, it only takes 11 pounds of pressure to fully incapacitate your victim and if you hang on for at least 50 seconds, they will never recover." rambled Spencer.

"When you suffocate someone you actually have less control over their death. It's actually more passive because the killer doesn't feel the life leaving the body." said Hotch.

"He's changed almost everything that he does." said Elle.

"Why why why why? What?! I mean, what's he getting out of this new M. O.? Where's his payoff? You got Carla Bromwell, she sustains a significant head injury. Blitz attacks suggests disorganization, no self-confidence. This is a guy who walks into 7 victims homes prior to this. There was no forced entry at any of the scenes. Where's the loss of confidence?" asked Gideon.

"He would never change the way he kills by choice." said Max.

Gideon looked at his mentor.

"What?" asked Gideon.

"We've been operating under the assumption that he purposely changed his MO." said Max.

"You're saying he changed because he had to change?" asked Gideon.

"He knocked her unconscious. And it wasn't to scare." answered Gideon.

"Because he couldn't control her physically while she was awake." said Elle.

"He could be incapacitated." said Max.

"At least partially." said Gideon.

"Maybe an injury." said Max.

"Or a stroke." said Hotch.

"Either way you're gonna have to have medical records. Agreed?" asked Gideon.

"Yes, so what are we talking about? This had to have happened after the middle of 1988 in Philadelphia?" asked Morgan.

"Somebody who fits the rest of the profile." said Gideon.

Spencer shook his head as he thought about Clarissa who enjoys working at Children's National.

"It's a lot of hospital records." said Spencer.

Gideon looked at Morgan.

"Call our girl Friday." said Gideon.

"OK." said Morgan before leaving the room.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was going through hospital records with Hotch and Morgan.

"Something debilitating enough to lose strength permanently, I'm still thinking stroke." said Hotch.

"You know Ryan's profile puts the unsub in his late 20's. Isn't that too young for a massive stroke?" asked Morgan.

"Technically you're never too young for a stroke. 80% of strokes are ischemic, the other 20 or hemorrhagic, which usually result in death. Ischemic strokes occur when plaque builds up in the arteries, causing restricted vessels to be blocked by a blood clot." said Spencer.

"Okay, but doesn't it take years for that type of plaque to build up?" asked Morgan.

"Ah, typically." said Spencer.

"Well then like I said, he was too young." said Morgan.

"Did you know that stroke victims that play virtual reality games show significant advances in recovery than those who don't?" asked Spencer.

Hotch who was reading a file spoke up.

"Now, here's somebody. In 1987 he was 30, single, dishonorable discharged." said Hotch.

"It's a good start. What was the injury?" asked Morgan.

"Broken neck. Intensive skull therapy for 9 years." said Hotch as he thought about how Clarissa had to deal with physical therapy after the car crash that killed their mom caused her to have surgery for a broken ankle.

"What's he been doing since?" asked Spencer as he thought about Clarissa telling him that her two week stay at Children's National is what led her to become a pediatric nurse.

"The guy moved to the Florida Keys, he's a scuba instructor. He's got the right idea." said Hotch causing a few chuckles.

"Come on. There's got to be something in here." said Morgan as he stood up.

10 minutes later Gideon and Max were helping them when Hotch spoke up.

"Helen's running down injuries on college campuses. The guy's well read, he may have been a professor." said Hotch.

"There are just too many hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities, we'd be sifting through records for weeks." said Spencer.

"Come on. There's got to be someway to narrow down the search, right?" asked Morgan.

"We ruled out a stroke and half the hospital don't even say how the accident occurred." said Hotch as he placed a record onto that table.

Spencer perked up.

"Accidents? In America, someone's involved in a car accident once in every 10 seconds." said Spencer as he thought about how he lost his parents, uncle Daniel, aunt Ethel, and uncle Gordon to car accidents caused by drunk drivers.

"Car accidents with injuries would all be reported by the police." said Gideon.

"We profiled him driving a late model American made sedan." said Max.

"All right, so how about I get Garcia to check Philly PD records for accidents involving American made sedans in serious injury?" asked Morgan.

"It's a long shot." said Max.

"It's a shot. Start with 1988, if it was an accident it stopped him in his tracks." said Gideon.

Morgan left the room, and over 10 minutes later Morgan came back into the room.

"Walter Kern had a military background. ROTC in high school, 4 years in the air force." said Morgan as he passed out what he printed out.

Spencer who was looking at Walter's medical records spoke up.

"Hospital records show that he lost mobility in his right side due to severed nerve damage to his spinal cord." said Spencer before reading what Morgan passed him.

"He never got the strength back." said Max.

"Kern's been a county worker, claims adjuster, and get this, he installed home alarms with Scott Harbin." said Hotch.

"Takes one to know one." said Gideon.

"All those jobs allowed him access to peoples homes." said Spencer.

"Explains why there was no sign of forced entry. He had a legitimate reason to knock on the door." said Morgan.

"Women felt comfortable letting him inside." said Gideon.

"He got a degree in criminology from Villanova in 1988. I wonder if he murdered anyone on campus." said Elle.

"That certainly explains his knowledge of law enforcement." said Gideon.

"This looks like our guy. Anybody's got a current address?" asked Hotch.

"557 Wight Street, Southeast Philadelphia. I got you, you son of a bitch. We got him, let's go bring him in." smiled Max as he looked at Spencer and motioned him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was about to enter a storm cellar with his teammates, and after a SWAT agent checked the cellar, the agent came out.

"It's clear." said the agent.

A few seconds later Spencer was in the cellar with Gideon and Max.

"Looks like he collected every article written about him." said Max as he looked at all the articles.

Gideon grabbed a book.

"He's got your book." said Gideon as he passed Max the book.

Max opened the book.

"Damn it, I signed it." said Max.

Spencer looked at all the photos that were hung up in the room.

"Hotch was entirely correct about the photography. His cellar's where he develops his photographs." said Spencer before seeing Gideon holding something, "What's that, a scrapbook?" asked Spencer.

"There's a chapter on every woman he's killed." said Gideon before passing the scrapbook to Spencer who started paging through the album.

"These entries are detailed enough to let him relive the kills for years." said Spencer.

"Candid photographs of the victims at the park, grocery store, outside of church, driver's license, clothing, jewelry." said Gideon.

Spencer reached a blank page.

"Those chapters in the back, they're not finished." said Max.

"These photographs are at least 20 years old. I mean look at the hair styles, the clothing..." said Spencer before the wheels in Spencer's brain started turning causing Max to watch Spencer's eyes move as he used his eidetic memory to figure everything out, "His recent themes of communication have been about old friends, unfinished business. His car accident was in the Fairmount district of Philadelphia, that's exactly where Carla Bromwell lived." rambled Spencer.

"He was on the way to kill her when he had his accident." said Gideon.

"It's not about finding a new type of victim, it's about his specific target." said Spencer.

"Because he was such a perfectionist, and is a perfectionist, he had to finish what he had started years ago." said Max.

"All these aren't new victims, Max. They were already targeted, right from day one." said Gideon.

Max looked at Spencer.

"Who's in that last chapter?" asked Max.

Spencer looked at the photos before giving a name.

xxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer who was wearing his Kevlar vest was standing outside Sylvia Gooden's house with his teammates.

"I believe Walter Kern is in Sylvia Gooden's home now, Hotch confirmed he left the community center hours ago, and Kern's car's parked on the next block." said Gideon.

"I want Walter Kern alive." said Max.

"I'll stand by for the word." said the SWAT agent.

"Okay, let's move out." said Gideon before looking at Spencer and Elle, "I'll call you when we've secured Kern." said Gideon.

"OK." said Elle.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that evening Spencer was sitting near Gideon reading a book as they flew back to Virginia.

"Did Jason ever tell you about the time that he found the director's itinerary in a bomber's car?" asked Max causing Gideon to look embarrassed.

"What, what?" asked Spencer.

"Come on, come on. No, no. He never said anything." said Morgan.

"Well, let me fill you in then. We had this bomber case, it was one of Jason's first so we had him go over and search the bomber's car, which was in the Quantico garage. Except for me and the guys had planted this piece of paper that had all these times and locations of where the FBI director was going to be over the next 48 hours." said Max as he saw the amused faces that Spencer, JJ, and Morgan were showing, "Anyway, Jason takes one look at this piece of paper and before we could stop him, he takes off runs up 25 flights of stairs to the directors office." said Max.

"Get out of here!" laughed Morgan.

"Barges in interrupting a meeting with the Attorney General himself." laughed Max as Spencer, JJ, and Morgan all laughed while Morgan clapped Gideon on the knee.

"Yay!" said Morgan.

"The director didn't find it very funny." said Gideon.

"Now, he was the only one who did this." said Max causing some laughter.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Over two hours later Spencer pulled on his jacket Max Ryan approached him and noticed some pictures on Spencer's desk.

"Is that you as a little boy?" asked Max as he took in the sight of a young boy with big glasses.

"Yes, and that's my last picture of me with my parents since my mom's older brother and his wife ended up adopting me when I was four after a drunk driver killed my parents." said Spencer.

Max looked at the pictures before seeing a picture of a slightly older Spencer with a blonde hair and blue eyed man in a police uniform.

"Now why does that blonde haired and blue eyed man in your pictures look familiar?" asked Max.

"My uncle Gordon Tucker was a police officer in Las Vegas before transferring to a precinct in New Haven, and he worked with the BAU two times in the late 80's and three times in the 90's." said Spencer.

"Now I remember him, and your the nephew he bragged about the one time I worked with him." said Max.

"He told me about working with you since he encouraged me to go down the FBI route." said Spencer.

Max thought about watching Spencer help him find the Keystone Killer.

"How is he?" asked Max.

Spencer sighed sadly.

"He and aunt Ethel have been dead for over five years." said Spencer sadly as he explained about the accident that killed his aunt and uncle.

"With watching you help bring down Walter Kern I can see why the FBI allowed you into the academy at 21 instead of waiting for you to turn 23." said Max just as Hotch came down the stairs.

"You ready to go home Reid?" asked Hotch.

"Yes." said Spencer.

"You two carpool?" asked Max.

"Reid lives two blocks away from me, so I don't mind giving Reid rides to and from work when I don't have a meeting." said Hotch.

"How's that wife of yours Aaron?" asked Max.

"She's doing great, and she invited you over for a late dinner since you have to meet my three month-old-son." said Hotch.

"Mind if I ride with you guys then?" asked Max.

"Not at all." said Hotch.

10 minutes later Spencer was in the back seat of Hotch's car, and Max looked at Hotch.

"So how's your brother and sister?" asked Max.

"I haven't talked to Sean since Christmas, but I get to see Clarissa a couple of times a week since she's a pediatric nurse at Children's National." said Hotch before smiling a bit, "Clarissa and my niece are currently with Haley right now." said Hotch.

"Niece?" asked Max.

"Clarissa got married over three years ago to a nice young man that she met at Yale, and they have a daughter who just turned two in December." said Hotch.

Spencer looked out the window as he tried to hide his smirk.

"Do you approve the man who married your baby sister?" asked Max.

"I sure do." said Hotch.

"With me getting to see your sister again, I better be meeting the young man who made an honest woman out of Clarissa." said Max.

Hotch looked through the rear view mirror and he worked hard on containing his laughter at the smirk Spencer was showing.

"You already met him since he's currently in the backseat." said Hotch.

Max looked at Spencer in shock before looking at Hotch.

"You two are allowed to be on the same team?" asked Max.

"I wasn't unit chief when Spencer joined the BAU, and when I became unit chief we were allowed to be on the same team since we've done a great job at hiding our relationship as brother-in-laws." said Hotch.

"So Erin Strauss knows?" asked Max.

"She knows since she decided to keep certain information out of my file, and I was placed into the BAU shortly after my 22nd birthday due to the psychological exams that I was given." said Spencer.

"So who was your training officer?" asked Max.

"I was since Gideon was unit chief, but Gideon and I both worked together on training Spencer." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As soon as Spencer stepped into his brother-in-law's house, Spencer felt Diana collide into his legs causing him to scoop up his two-year-old daughter.

"I missed you Diana." said Spencer as he hugged and kissed his daughter.

"I miss you too, daddy." said Diana before giving her daddy a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

"Where's my kiss, Diana?" asked Hotch.

Spencer handed his daughter over to Hotch so Diana could give her uncle a kiss on the cheek before looking at the older man.

"Who are you?" asked Diana.

Hotch looked at his niece.

"This is Max Ryan who was a profiler just like your daddy and I are." said Hotch.

"Can you say hi?" asked Spencer as he took his daughter back.

"Hi." said Diana shyly before burying her face into her daddy's neck just as Clarissa who had Jack in her arms entered the foyer.

"Despite it being past her bedtime she insisted on staying awake when I told her that her daddy and uncle Aaron were coming home." said Clarissa before pecking Spencer on the lips before kissing her brother on the cheek.

"I have to say that Diana's a perfect mixture of you two." said Max as he took in the sight of the little girl in her daddy's arms.

"Diana's named after my mom." said Spencer as he gave his nephew a kiss on the forehead before Hotch took his son from his nephew.

Max looked at Spencer and Hotch.

"Well hopefully you two never lose your families over your jobs like Jason and I did." said Max.

"Well its helpful that my hours vary since I work third shift one week a month while being on call during weekends just in case a nurse can't make it." said Clarissa.

"So how do you two manage being parents?" asked Max.

"We have a live in nanny who takes care of Diana while helping with cooking and cleaning." said Clarissa just as Haley entered the room.

"Dinner's done." said Haley before greeting Max.

A few minutes later Diana was sleeping on the couch while Spencer, Clarissa, Hotch, Haley, and Max were enjoying a late dinner.


	30. The Tribe

Spencer set down his pen by the form he was filling out before pushing his glasses up his nose as he looked at his wife.

"Done with our taxes until next year." said Spencer.

Clarissa looked up from the checks that she was writing for their bills.

"I only have three more checks to fill out." said Clarissa as she placed a check into an envelope with the correct bill before looking at her husband, "So how much are we getting back for our tax return?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer showed Clarissa their return form before Clarissa looked at their bank statements causing her to think about how she and Spencer aren't hurting on money due to Spencer having over $800,000 left in his trust fund while they made sure that Lucy gets paid for taking care of Diana while getting health insurance.

"Since we never have to worry about not having enough money, should we eventually put the $3,000 that we should be getting from our tax return into the account that we set up for Diana's schooling?" asked Clarissa.

"We should, and I wonder if Sean, Aaron, and Haley will ask me to file their taxes for them again." said Spencer as he decided to help Clarissa finish up on writing checks for their bills.

Clarissa laughed as she thought about both Aaron and Sean asking Spencer to help them with their taxes so they don't have to pay an accountant.

"They probably will since they're willing to pay you with coffee instead of paying an accountant to file their taxes." teased Clarissa.

Spencer laughed before taking a sip of his coffee.

"Let's clean up the table and go to bed since we have church in the morning." said Clarissa.

"What should we do after church?" asked Spencer.

"You remember Sarah and her husband Peter from church?" asked Clarissa as she thought about how she and Spencer made friends with other members who are young parents that have kids Diana's age.

"Yes." said Spencer as he thought about how Sarah and Peter have a daughter who is Diana's age while having a little boy who's almost five years old.

"They want Diana to have a play date with Courtney since they're wanting to talk to you about putting on a magic show during Darren's birthday party next weekend." said Clarissa as she thought about how Spencer's asked to do magic shows at some birthday parties.

"I can't make any promises due to my job, but if I'm not working I will be glad to put on a magic show for Darren." said Spencer as he thought about how he always ends up putting on a magic show for the kids during the coffee hour after church.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Two days later Spencer was coming down the stairs with Diana on his hip when the doorbell rang, and less than a minute later he was letting Sean into the house.

"Well this is a surprise, Sean." said Spencer as he looked at his 25 year old brother-in-aw.

"I just wanted to see you, Clarissa, and my niece before I surprise Aaron at the BAU." said Sean as he took his niece from Spencer, "Hi there Diana." said Sean.

"Hi unca Sean." grinned Diana as she gave her uncle a kiss on the cheek.

Spencer looked at his brother in law as he thought about Hotch telling him that Sean has never shown up at the BAU yet.

"When you visit your brother please don't bring up Clarissa's, Diana's, or my name since Aaron and I are not allowed to bring up that Aaron and I are brothers-in-law." said Spencer.

"I understand since you two are protecting my baby sister and my niece." said Sean before looking around, "Speaking of my little sister, where is she?" asked Sean.

"She's doing her hair right now, and I was planning on getting breakfast started before Lucy comes into the house." said Spencer.

"Mind if I help cook?" asked Sean.

"You can help since I was planning on making shredded hash browns from scratch, scrambled eggs, and bacon." said Spencer as he started heading to the kitchen with Sean following him.

"Usually it was oatmeal and orange juice when Aaron, Clarissa, and I were kids." said Sean.

"I know, but when it comes to working for the BAU, I was warned that its important that I eat a big breakfast since there will be times that meals will be skipped or cut short." said Spencer as they entered the kitchen, "Could you please get Diana a banana that she can munch on while   
breakfast is being cooked?" asked Spencer as he washed his hands.

"Sure Spencer." said Sean as he settled his niece into her booster seat.

A minute later Diana was munching on a banana while Spencer and Sean worked together on cooking breakfast.

"Its a good thing that aunt Ethel taught me how to cook since she was a caterer." said Spencer as he started scrambling eggs.

"I always hoped that I would win a girl with my cooking skills." said Sean as he worked on peeling potatoes.

"Cooking is basically chemistry for me, and you should remember about how I asked your sister out." said Spencer.

"That card trick was amazing, but I loved the magic trick you did when you asked me to marry you." said Clarissa as she entered the kitchen and kissed her 25-year-old brother on the cheek.

xxxxxxxxx

Later on that morning, Spencer inwardly smirked as he watched JJ and Garcia talk about his youngest brotherin-law.

"Here he comes." said Garcia as she watched Sean exit his brother's office.

"That's Hotch's brother? I don't see it." said JJ.

"Sean, listen to me. All I'm saying is that you're 25 years old." said Hotch as he thought about how Clarissa ended up working a career that he approves.

"You know what? Don't profile me Aaron!" yelled Sean as he glared at his older brother before storming away.

"Now I see it." smiled JJ.

Spencer quickly grabbed his cellphone and texted Hotch from underneath his desk.

WHATEVER SEAN CAME HERE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT, HE NEVER TOLD CLARISSA OR ME ANYTHING OVER BREAKFAST THIS MORNING. ~ SR

A minute later Spencer's phone vibrated and he inwardly smirked at Hotch's text.

I HAD A FEELING THAT HE DIDN'T TELL YOU OR CLARISSA BECAUSE YOU TWO WOULD HAVE TOLD ME THAT HE DOESN'T WANT TO BECOME A LAWYER SINCE HE WANTS TO BECOME A CHEF IN NEW YORK CITY. ~ AH

A few minutes later Spencer was sitting at the round table with his teammates.

"Terra Mesa, New Mexico. Five dead, all from Mesa university. No signs of sexual assault and no sign of theft." said JJ as she passed files around before taking a seat between Spencer and Hotch.

"Five 19 year olds, minimal defensive wounds. One of them was impaled in a 6-foot wooden pole." read Morgan.

"Who wanna torture five college freshmen?" asked Elle.

"They weren't tied up and no one escaped?" asked Morgan.

"No single unsub could have exerted as much control over so many people." said Spencer.

"So you think there was more than two?" asked Elle.

"I think we're looking at a pack." said Gideon.

"A pack?" asked JJ.

"Three or more that kill in unison, as in nature of the group dynamic dictates, the pack survival is depending on their ability to hunt successfully." said Spencer.

"And, as in nature a pack will keep on killing until it runs out of prey or is stopped." said Hotch.

"Stopped by what?" asked Elle.

"A stronger pack." said Gideon.

A few minutes later Spencer was sending a text message to Clarissa.

GOING TO TERRA MESA, NEW MEXICO. I PROMISE THAT I WILL STAY SAFE WHILE TRYING TO FIND TIME TO CALL YOU BEFORE DIANA IS PUT TO BED. I LOVE YOU. ~ SR

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer, Hotch, and Gideon approached Sheriff Rhodes.

"Sheriff I'm Special Agent Hotchner, these are agents Reid and Gideon." said Hotch.

"I was hoping there were more of you." said Sheriff Rhodes.

"The other agents went straight to station house to look at the victims' files. Has Forensics had any luck?" asked Hotch.

"The county CSU went through for prints and trace evidence, They said with all the work, by tramping here looking at footprints would be a waste.   
Come on." said Sheriff Rhodes as he held up the crime scene tape for Spencer, Hotch, and Gideon.

A few minutes later Spencer was wearing protective booties over his shoes while looking at the crime scene photos while Hotch walked the scene.

"Bodies were almost completely skinned, yet there's so little blood." said Hotch.

"I think I know why. The unsub avoided areas of skin on the wrist and the throat, areas where the veins and arteries are closest to the surface." said Spencer.

"Why would they do that?" asked Sheriff Rhodes.

"They didn't want them to bleed out." said Gideon.

"These kids were skinned alive." said Spencer before they started to explore the house more.

"Two cases of beer, two sleeping bags." said Gideon.

"There's a third sleeping bag upstairs." said Sheriff Rhodes.

"Everything you need for a night of teenage romance." said Hotch.

"It's unlikely that two couples brought a fifth wheel to take notes." said Gideon.

"Sheriff it's possible there was a third girl here, a sixth victim." said Hotch.

"I'll get my deputies to canvas the area, see if anybody saw a girl." said Sheriff Rhodes.

"You said there was another one outside?" asked Hotch.

"Yeah." said Sheriff Rhodes as he lead Spencer, Gideon, and Hotch outside.

"He was like the others. Coroner said from the amount of blood, he was alive when they impaled him." said Sheriff Rhodes.

"I know this is gonna sound strange, but the way the victims were flayed alive, mutilated and now the impalement display of this last victim." said Spencer as he thought about something.

"What?" asked Gideon.

"These were all war rituals of the Native American Plains Indians." said Spencer.

"That means something to you Sheriff?" asked Hotch.

"Say, it does! Everything you see around, this is Apache land! This whole basin is a sacred burial ground, and was the side of a number of massacres as I understand." said Sheriff Rhodes.

"So this development is on their land?" asked Hotch.

"It was their land, but they didn't have the money or the inclination to build on it, so the town seized the half of it." said Sheriff Rhodes.

"Last year the Supreme Court ruled that cities can use eminent domain authority to seize and repossess undeveloped private land for private development." said Spencer.

"And now the town is looking for investors to build on the other half. The Apache are fighting it of course in court." said Sheriff Rhodes.

"Ever been any violence until now?" asked Gideon.

"Nothing like this." said Sheriff Rhodes.

"You know anybody on the reservation capable of this?" asked Gideon.

"I don't know, reservation's federal jurisdiction." said Sheriff Rhodes.

"Sounds like where we need to go." said Gideon.

"We'll call Garcia, see what she can find." said Hotch.

A few minutes later Spencer was by the SUV when Hotch got off the phone and looked at Sheriff Rhodes.

"Blackwolf?" asked Hotch.

"John Blackwolf?" asked Sheriff Rhodes.

"You know him?" asked Gideon.

"Indian activist. He's been in a little trouble related to his activism but nothing violent, not around here." said Sheriff Rhodes.

"Should we call the reservation police and alert them?" asked Hotch.

"I don't think that's a good idea." said Sheriff Rhodes.

"Why not?" asked Hotch.

"Blackwolf is the reservation police." said Sheriff Rhodes.

xxxxxxx

Spencer was getting out of the back seat of the SUV when Sheriff Rhodes approached a woman.

"Jane Bear, these are FBI agents. Gideon." said Sheriff Rhodes.

Gideon shook hands with Jane.

"Hello." said Gideon.

"Hello." said Jane.

"Hotchner." said Sheriff Rhodes as he gestured to Hotch.

Hotch shook hands with Jane.

"How do you do?" said Hotch.

Sheriff Rhodes gestured to Spencer.

"And Reid." said Sheriff Rhodes.

Spencer waved at Jane.

"Hey." said Jane.

"Miss Bear is the president of the tribal council and principal of the reservation school." said Sheriff Rhodes.

"President and a principal, must be a busy woman." said Gideon.

"We're out here on our own Agent Gideon, we all do our part." said Jane.

"Is John inside?" asked Sheriff Rhodes.

"Is this about the Terra Mesa killings?" asked Jane.

"They just wanna talk to him." said Sheriff Rhodes.

"John Blackwolf has done more to help his tribe than anyone." said Jane before looking at Sheriff Rhodes, "Jim, how many times have you called him into find lost hikers? How many drunken campers has he tracked down for the park service? John is a peaceful man." said Jane.

"Who would not hesitate to defend this tribe with force, if attacked." said Sheriff Rhodes.

"What does this have to do with Terra Mesa?" asked Jane.

"As long that John considers the building of the Terra Mesa development on Apache land to be an attack." said Hotch.

Jane sighed as she motioned everyone to follow her.

"The developers have paid a lot the families to leave the reservation. So many families have gone now that we can barely fill a single class. ..." said Jane.

A minute later Spencer was watching John talk to students.

"The Apache nation to abandon their homes and live in government controlled internment camps. Does anybody know the last tribe to surrender to the American government?" asked John.

"Chiricahua Apache." whispered Spencer to himself.

"It was the Chiricahuas Apache. And does anybody know the name of the last leader of the Apaches?" asked John as he saw a bunch of FBI agents enter the room.

"Geronimo." whispered Spencer to himself.

"I know." said a bunch of students as they raised their hands.

"Geronimo." said Samuel.

"That's right. He was caught by the US army five times! But the Ga'he had given him so much strength, he escaped. Each time. Samuel." said John.

"Yes?" asked Samuel.

"Tell the men from the FBI who the Ga'he are?" asked John.

"The Ga'he are mighty spirits who dwell in desert caves." said Spencer out loud.

"Reid, is your name Samuel?" asked an amused Hotch causing a few chuckles as he thought about how his brother in law's Asperger's syndrome sometimes makes it hard to understand social cues.

"Sorry..." said Spencer.

"Are the Ga'he good spirits or bad spirits?" asked Gideon.

"They're both, like men." said John.

"I'll take over for you John." said Jane.

A minute later Spencer was outside with Hotch, Gideon, Sheriff Rhodes, and Blackwolf.

"Blackwolf, I'm Agent Gideon, these are Agents Hotchner and Reid." said Gideon.

John looked at Gideon.

"You look like a college professor, you look like his student." said John as he looked at Spencer before looking at Hotch, "You, you look like FBI."

"We're with the Behavioral Analysis Unit." said Hotch.

"A profiler should know better." said John.

"How's that?" asked Hotch.

"We don't do massacres. You do." said John.

"Me personally?" asked Hotch.

"Your government." said John.

Hotch looked at Spencer and motioned him to grab the crime scene photos out of his messenger bag.

"Mr. Blackwolf, we'd like you to take a look at these photos and help us figure out how these kids were killed." said Hotch as John accepted the pictures from Spencer.

"You're not asking because I'm a cop." said John.

"No. We're asking because you're an expert on Native American culture." said Gideon.

John looked at the pictures.

"I don't base my opinion on pictures Mr. Hotchner, I have to walk the ground." said John.

xxxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer, Hotch, Gideon, Sheriff Rhodes, and John were at the crime scene.

"We should start inside, Forensics says the outside has been contaminated from all the construction droppings." said Hotch.

"Of all the native American tribes, the Apache were most renounced for their tracking ability. It was said that they could track a man or animal through any condition by simply noticing the slightest disturbance in the environment." said Spencer.

"It's profiling the dirt!" said Hotch.

Spencer noticed the holster on John's belt.

"I notice you don't carry a gun." said Spencer.

"21 feet." said John.

"What?" asked Spencer as he thought about his uncle never telling him about 21 feet.

"Ask agent Hotchner, there he is the real gunhand." said John.

"Why do you say that?" asked Hotch.

"You carry two guns." said John.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"The maximum distance an attacker with a knife can close, in the time it takes to react, draw your sidearm and fire is 21 feet." said Hotch.

"Inside 21 feet, I win, outside 21 I have other options beside shooting a man." said John.

"Like negotiating." said Spencer.

"Like running." said John.

"Why do you say I carry two guns?" asked Hotch.

"Your right instep print's heavier than your left. And since you don't appear to have a clubbed right foot…" said John.

"You can't tell that from my foot prints, there's no perceptible difference between them." said Hotch.

"Your problem isn't with your prints, It's with your perception." said John before walking away.

A few minutes later John was looking at the ground.

"What do you see?" asked Gideon.

"There's a saying: "Once too much blood has been spilled on the same ground, ground develops a thirst for it". This is all consistent with native American warfare rituals, but it's not that sure. Whoever did this carried out the most brutal practices of the Apache, Navajo, Comanche, Pueblo, and Sioux. No one tribe ever did them all, not like this. Real Indians would know that. This wasn't Indians. And if you want to figure out who did this, it might help to know there was a sixth person in the house." said John.

"Why do you say that?" asked Hotch.

"Female, 90-95 pounds, size 6 shoe, fallen arches, she was walking alone when she was ambushed by two men." said John.

"We also believe there were at least three suspects." said Hotch.

"Three? Yeah. Two over here plus at least six over there! Because while these two carry this girl struggling to their vehicle to the east, at least six others ran single filed to hide their numbers from the west." said John as he made sure to point at certain areas.

"So you're saying that they were eight?" asked Hotch.

"At least." said John.

"And one hostage." said Gideon.

xxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was starting to brief all the officers on the profile.

"Each torture ritual had specific religious significance, but only to the tribe that practiced it. Highly unlikely that anyone tribe will mix them all together like this." said Spencer.

"Meaning?" asked a Deputy.

"Whoever did this obviously had knowledge of Native American culture, but they had absolutely no practical understanding of it." said Spencer   
before sitting down.

"What we know is this pack shares a singular vision. Whether they share religious faith, racist ideology, or political manifesto, each member of this unit has surrendered its individual identity to the group." said Morgan.

"It's the act of kidnapping that reveals the nature of this pack." said Hotch.

"From the German red brigade, to Munich Olympics, to Iraqi insurgents, the act of kidnapping is a characteristic of political terrorists groups." said Elle.

"We could be looking for a domestic terrorist organization, like the Symbionese Liberation Army that kidnapped Patty Hurst." said Hotch.

"But these are Indians, right?" asked the deputy.

"I seriously doubt it, the torture and mutilation you see here are very confused imitations of warfare practiced by Native American tribes." said John.

"Are you trying to tell us that Indians wouldn't be so brutal?" asked the deputy.

"No, I'm saying that Indians wouldn't be so confused." said John.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day Spencer was walking in the hallway of a hospital with Morgan to talk to Ingrid when Morgan's cellphone rang.

"It's Garcia." said Morgan.

"I got this." said Spencer.

"You sure?" asked Morgan.

"Yeah. Yeah." said Spencer.

Morgan answered his phone.

"Yeah, talk to me." said Morgan.

Spencer looked through the window of Ingrid's hospital room before entering the room.

"Hello Ingrid. I'm Dr. Spencer Reid." said Spencer as he held up his badge, "I'm with the FBI, and I was wondering if you could..." said Spencer.

"Griesen Ingrid. 943239487." said Ingrid in a monotone voice.

"Excuse me?" asked Spencer.

Ingrid turned her head towards Spencer.

"Griesen Ingrid. 943239487." said Ingrid.

Spencer stared at Ingrid for a couple of seconds before heading back to Morgan and quickly told him what Ingrid said before Morgan called Hotch.

xxxxxxxxx

The next day Spencer was pacing in the bullpen area of the police department as they did a second attempt on the profile.

"We're looking for the cult leader. Typically men between the age of 25 and 35 with a high level of intelligence. Sociopathic underachiever, with an extremely abusive childhood, and obviously someone with an interest in and affinity for Apache culture and rituals." said Spencer.

"Look for males with criminal records for lesser type crimes: drug possession, petty theft." said Morgan.

"What about school records? The victims from the first crime scene went to Terra Mesa university, maybe the leader was there, too." said JJ.

"Great. Look for students who studied native American cultures extensively." said Elle.

"We need to do it all. With this second strike, it could be a spree." said Morgan.

xxxxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer and Gideon were talking to Hotch on the phone.

"Jackson Gordon Cally. 32 years old, spent most of his childhood moving from foster home to foster home." said Spencer.

"Hang on a second. I'm gonna put you on speaker. Go ahead, Reid." said Hotch.

"Simply another sad but unremarkable statistic. Aside from the fact that he had an IQ of 189." said Spencer.

"Any criminal record?" asked Hotch.

"At 18 he spent 22 months in prison for auto theft, I just spoke to the warden at the prison, said when he was there, he found religion and began preaching to his fellow inmates. And that he once convinced a mass murderer he was doing time with to beat to death an inmate that was threatening Cally." said Spencer.

"Ever since he was a child, this guy just survived on cunning, force of personality." said Gideon.

"He spent 22 months in the clink, was released and then bounced from university to university, studying, you guessed it, Native American cultures." said Spencer.

"Okay, thanks." said Hotch before hanging up.

xxxxxxxx  
A short while later Morgan was back at the station talking to Spencer and Gideon.

"Blackwolf got Cally to reveal his true nature, he's a racist. None of this was for the sake of the Apache." said Morgan.

"Never was. It was always about Cally. It was about power and manipulation." said Gideon.

"Charles Manson claimed that he ordered his followers to kill whites in order to initiate a race war. Something he referred to as Helter-Skelter." said Spencer.

"And he believed in the aftermath of Helter-Skelter, the blacks, who he deemed inferior, would need a white man to lead them." said Morgan as   
Elle approached them.

"There was a large cache of guns missing from Minton's house." said Elle.

"Why? Why would Cally suddenly need guns? His whole MO is to fight a war using the Native American methods." said Morgan.

"Maybe he isn't trying to fight a war, maybe he's trying to start one." said Gideon.

"The first attack was designed to look like Indians." said Spencer.

"In an attempt to manipulate the ADU to retaliate against the reservation." said Morgan.

"But they didn't. How could they? We had them put under surveillance." said Spencer.

"So Cally tried to provoke them further by killing the head of the ADU, Minton and his family." said Elle.

"Right, but that didn't work either so now he wants to attack the other side." said Morgan.

"He's trying to provoke the Indians by staging an ADU attack against them. Call Blackwolf. We need to get to the reservation." said Gideon before hurrying away.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer, Morgan, and Gideon approached Hotch and Blackwolf who were near a group of people who were tied up and gagged.

"Children?" asked Gideon.

"They're fine. We got them out before they got here. We took down these four." said Hotch as he noticed the relieved look on everyone's faces.

"Without firing a shot?" asked an awestruck Spencer as he looked at his brother-in-law.

"Captain America here shot number 5." deadpanned John.

Hotch looked at John.

"You're welcome." said Hotch before looking at his male teammates, "Number 6 is cut up pretty bad, I don't think he's gonna make it." said Hotch.

"At least I didn't shoot him." deadpanned John.

"I think I'd rather be shot." said Morgan.

"There's an old Apache saying. You can take many paths to get to the same place." said Hotch before walking away while thinking about how happy Spencer and Clarissa with their careers and being parents at 24-years-old making him realize that he should let Sean be happy.

xxxxxxx

Later on that night Spencer and Clarissa entered the diner that Sean worked at with Diana and they grinned when they saw Hotch and Sean together.

"Hey guys." said Clarissa as she gave her two brothers each a kiss on the cheek.

"I was hoping that you three would come for dinner." said Sean as he smiled at his niece who was on her daddy's shoulders as he grabbed a booster seat for Diana.

"Diana wanted to see her uncle Sean." said Clarissa as she watched her husband swoop Diana off his shoulders and placed Diana into the booster seat.

"Want your usual?" asked Sean.

"Yes please." said Spencer.

Sean smiled at his niece who was wearing overalls and a long sleeved striped purple shirt.

"Want a coloring book and some crayons?" asked Sean.

"Yes pwease." said Diana.

A minute later Diana was happily coloring in a coloring book when Sean looked at his sister.

"I'm moving to New York to work under a chef who can teach me a lot." said Sean.

"I know." said Clarissa before she looked at her husband, "Can you please cover Diana's ears, Spence?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer covered Diana's ears allowing Clarissa to look at her brother.

"You better stay out of trouble or I will personally come up to New York City and kick your ass." said Clarissa.

Sean looked at his sister.

"I will try since Aaron gave me information on one of his contacts from a field office in New York City." said Sean before looking at Spencer and Clarissa, "You two better bring my niece to New York City to visit me, and please think about giving me another niece or nephew to spoil." said Sean.

"We will visit you, but we want to wait until we're both at or near your age to give Diana a little brother or sister." said Clarissa.

"So how many kids are you wanting to have?" asked Sean.

"I would love to have two of each." said Clarissa.

Sean looked at his brother-in-law.

"What about you, Spencer? asked Sean.

"I think having two of each would be nice since I hated being an only child growing up." said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband as she pulled out her camera from her purse.

"Can you please take a picture of me with my brothers?" asked Clarissa.

"Sure." said Spencer before looking at his daughter who was actually coloring in the lines, "Do you want Diana in the picture?" asked Spencer.

"I just want one of me with Aaron and Sean before I ask someone to get a picture of all of us." said Clarissa.

Diana's eyes went wide at the chocolate cake.

"Can I pwease eat cake?" asked Diana causing Spencer, Clarissa, Hotch, and Sean to chuckle.

"After you eat your dinner." said Spencer as he ran a hand through Diana's long brown curls, "And with how yummy that cake looks, I might have to share a piece with you." said Spencer as he tickled his daughter's belly.

"You two and your love for anything sweet." muttered Clarissa before looking at her husband, "Please take that picture now because we can't let Sean take a long break." said Clarissa.

"Yes ma'am." said Spencer.

Less than a minute later Spencer was taking a picture of the three Hotchner siblings together before a waitress took a picture of the three Hotchner siblings, Spencer, and Diana together.


	31. A Real Rain Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ended up changing some of the lines because I have it that Spencer's been to New York City countless of times when his aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon were alive because of New York City being about 70 miles away from New Haven.

Hotch and Haley looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"We appreciate you two agreeing to watch Jack for a couple of hours." said Haley as she took in the sight of Jack being in her sister in law's arms.

"With all the times that you two offered to watch Diana so Lucy can have the night off, we're glad to return the favor." said Clarissa as she smiled at her nephew.

Jack looked at his uncle Spencer before he started to squirm in his aunt Clarissa's arms as he whimpered causing Spencer to take his nephew from his wife where he instantly quieted down in his uncle Spencer's arms.

"Someone definitely loves his uncle Spence." said Clarissa as she thought about how good her husband looks while holding a baby.

"Ack wuvs daddy?" asked Diana as she looked up at her daddy who had her cousin in his arms.

Clarissa instantly swooped up her daughter and settled her onto her hip.

"He sure does sweet pea, and when Jack's a bit older he will love to play with you." said Clarissa.

"OK." sighed Diana.

Hotch looked at his niece who was a perfect mixture of her parents.

"Are you going to help your mommy and daddy take care of your cousin?" asked Hotch.

Diana nodded as her curly pigtails bounced.

xxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer and Clarissa were cuddling on the couch while Spencer held Jack.

"Remember when Diana was this small?" asked Spencer as he made faces to his five-month-old nephew causing the five month old baby boy to laugh.

Spencer and Clarissa smiled at their laughing five month old nephew.

"I miss those days." said Clarissa as she ran a gentle finger along Jack's cheek.

"Me too." said Spencer as he looked at his two-year-old baby girl who was dancing to the classical music that he put on earlier, "She definitely didn't inherit my balance." said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at Diana who was dancing.

"When you were in New Mexico last week, I ended up taking Diana to one of my colleagues daughter's ballet recital and she's doing the exact same moves that Angelica was doing." said Clarissa.

"Seems like Diana inherited my eidetic memory since she ended up reciting "The Foot Book" by Dr. Seuss last night without opening the book." said Spencer before looking at his nephew who was staring at him, "What do you say about me reading to you, buddy?" asked Spencer.

Jack happily babbled at the thought about his uncle Spencer reading to him since he loves it when his uncle Spencer reads to him.

"I take that as a yes." chuckled Spencer.

"I will go grab a book." said Clarissa as she got off the couch and looked at Diana who stopped dancing, "Are you wanting daddy to continue reading "Anne of Green Gables" to you?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes." said Diana.

Five minutes later Spencer was continuing his reading of "Anne of Green Gables" to Diana and Jack while not realizing that Clarissa took a picture and sent it to Haley.

JACK LOVES LISTENING TO HIS UNCLE SPENCER READ TO HIM. ~ CR

xxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that night Spencer and Clarissa were getting ready for bed when Spencer looked at the scar on Clarissa's right ankle causing him to think back to Clarissa telling him that after breaking her ankle she couldn't do competitive figure skating anymore.

"Do you miss competitive figure skating?" asked Spencer.

"I do because I was hoping that I could compete in the 2002 Winter Olympics, but I'm glad that I retired from competitive figure skating to attend Yale so I could become a pediatric nurse because I met you." said Clarissa as she kissed her husband.

Spencer looked at the clock.

"With it being 11 PM right now, we should probably get some sleep because I have that promised magic show to give at Children's National tomorrow." said Spencer as he took off his glasses and set them on his nightstand causing Clarissa to follow suit with her own glasses.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were fast asleep in their bed.

xxxxxxxxx

The next morning Clarissa smiled when she saw the nurse who pulled her out of the deep end after her life changing accident by asking her to help her entertain children during her two week stay at Children's National while mentoring her when she started at Children's National.

"I didn't know that you will be here today." said Clarissa she gave Janet a hug.

Janet Powell looked at Clarissa as she thought about meeting 17-year-old Clarissa.

"I wanted to see my goddaughter and watch your husband give a magic show to the kids." said Janet as she gave Diana a hug.

"Daddy do a magic show." said Diana as she pointed out where her daddy was.

"I know Diana." said Janet before looking at Clarissa, "My husband and I are hoping that you, Diana, and Spencer would come over for dinner tonight." said Janet.

"I'll talk to Spence when we're on our way home." said Clarissa.

Two minutes later Spencer was stumping the child that he picked to be his assistant with a card trick.

xxxxxxxxx

Two days later Spencer was sitting at the round table while Hotch briefed him and the rest of the team on their latest case.

"Walter Derbin, age 52. His body was found in his cab in east Harlem. He was blindfolded and shot once in the chest. Death was caused by knife stab through his ear. The unsub broke off the handle and put the blade lodged in his brain." said Hotch.

"It's the same signature as two other murders. Rachel Holman, 24, found in her apartment 3 weeks ago on the lower east side. And Kaveh Surrani, 30. The police found him 2 weeks later in his painting studio in hell's kitchen." said JJ.

"Different locations, different victimology. It's possible we're looking for someone who'll hunt indiscriminately." said Hotch as he watched Spencer, Elle, and Morgan go through the crime scene photos.

"NYPD have any leads?" asked Elle.

"Guy's a ghost." stated Hotch.

"He kills at night. There's no witnesses." said JJ.

"Is the NYPD feeling the strain?" asked Gideon.

"Well, they've withheld details so the press hasn't sniffed out a link between the murders." said JJ.

"With no discernable victim patterns, the killer's practically impossible to stop." said Morgan.

"Did you know the original zodiac killer actually continually changed his victims. Young, old, men, women, white, black." said Spencer.

"Exactly, and he killed for 30 years without ever being caught." said Gideon.

Hotch instantly gave a departure time, and a few minutes later Spencer was sending Clarissa a text message.

I'M GOING TO NEW YORK CITY, AND I PROMISE TO STAY SAFE. I LOVE BOTH YOU AND DIANA. ~ SR

xxxxxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer was playing cards with his teammates as they headed to New York City.

"This is not how I planned to spend a few days home in New York." said Elle.

"I'd kill for an afternoon at Barney's and dinner at Il Cantinori." smiled JJ.

Spencer thought about he happy memories that he had with is aunt and uncle whenever they took him to New York City to visit museums and tourist attractions.

"I'm looking forward to seeing New York." said Spencer.

"You've never been to New York?" asked a shocked Morgan.

"We've never had an unsub there." said Spencer before seeing the shocked looks from Morgan, Elle, and JJ, "I've been to New York City countless of times because after aunt Ethel, uncle Gordon, and I moved to New Haven we all agreed that we would spend a week in the city every year. But after aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon died I didn't have the heart to spend time in New York City anymore because aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon went to New York City to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary for two days before they were killed." said Spencer quietly.

Hotch looked at Gideon.

"At least Reid's starting his week long vacation next Sunday." said Hotch quietly as he thought about him and Haley agreeing to take in Merton since Clarissa, Diana, and Lucy were going to Las Vegas with Spencer so he didn't have to deal with the anniversary of his biological parents deaths on his own.

"Except its going to Las Vegas for the 20th anniversary of his parents deaths." said Gideon quietly.

"What about driving through New York when you were still in college?" asked Morgan as he thought about Spencer telling him about staying with his godparents after earning his second PhD for the summer before moving to Cambridge.

"I've never had a problem with driving through New York." said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his agents.

"OK, here's what we know. Blitz attackers are almost always male." started Hotch.

"He got picked up in the pouring rain by a New York cabbie, so we definitely know he's not a brother." said Morgan causing Elle to laugh.

"The fact that he kills in a major urban setting without detection indicates he's highly intelligent." stated Spencer.

"How intelligent can he be? And blitz attackers are textbook disorganized killers." said Elle.

"Yeah, but he brings along a murder kit. Blindfold, knife. How disorganized can he be?" asked Hotch.

"We'll split up. We'll take the last two crime scenes. In the meantime, let's talk about what we can agree on. A blindfold likely means one of two things." said Gideon.

"The unsub might blindfold them initially if he's unsure of killing them and wants to avoid detection." said Morgan.

"Exactly. But since we know the cab driver couldn't have been blindfolded when he drove the unsub, we're looking at reason number two." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer stood by a taxi with Detective Bennett while Gideon looked at the taxi.

"Blindfolding a victim suggests the unsub feels remorse. Doesn't want his victims to look at him... As he kills them. What's in that building?" asked Gideon as he pointed at a building.

"Nothing. It's been vacant for a couple of months." said Detective Bennett.

Spencer looked at the subway entrance as he thought about how he would always take the train to work in the morning.

"This train goes express after midnight. It doesn't even stop here." said Spencer.

"He picked this spot beforehand." said Gideon as he opened a door.

"His last fare was logged in an address on Church Street. You have any idea what's there?" asked Spencer.

Detective Bennett looked at the clipboard that Spencer was holding.

"Church is an entry point for Brooklyn. There's a dive there where the cabbies stop for coffee before the overnight shift." said Detective Bennett.

"Explains how he got a cab." said Spencer.

"This guy's definitely not disorganized." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer looked at Gideon and Detective Bennett.

"Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris drove ice picks into their victim's heads and broke off the handle. It's possible our unsub is sort of a, uh, serial-killer groupie." said Spencer.

"So is this guy an ex-con or some nut job with an Amazon account?" asked Officer Clark.

"This particular unsub presents a mixed profile." said Gideon.

"No offense, then what good is it?" asked Detective Clark.

xxxxxxxxx

Detective Bennett looked at Spencer and Gideon.

"So we're looking for a small, angry white guy with a day job?" asked a female officer.

"Maybe it's Wilson." said an officer as he pointed at another officer on the shoulder causing some laughter.

"Cut it!" exclaimed Detective Bennett.

Gideon smiled.

"No, that's all right. That's all right. You're right. There's a lot we still don't know, but we do know this: these are not blitz attacks. They're too controlled. These are absolutely executions." said Gideon.

"An unsub's signature- is his own extremely rare combination of MO and ritual. An unsub kills to satisfy an inner need, and he'll continue killing until that inner need, which is based on a ritual, is lived out perfectly. Because reality never lives up to fantasy, this becomes an impossibility." said Spencer.

"In other words, he's not gonna stop killing until we catch him." said Gideon.

Detective Bennett looked at her officers.

"OK. Hit the streets and keep your head on a swivel." said Detective Bennett as her officers started standing up.

"Thank you very much." said Gideon as Hotch and JJ entered the room and approached Detective Bennett.

"Hi. Jennifer Jareau. We spoke on the phone." said JJ as she shook hands with the detective.

"Hello." said Detective Bennett as she shook hands with Hotch.

"Agent Hotchner." said Hotch.

"So I spoke to your point man. I reiterated how important it is to keep the crime scene details under wraps, but it would go a long way if it came out of your mouth, too." said JJ.

"You got it." said Detective Bennett.

"If this guy's who we think he is, we're talking terror like New York hasn't seen since Son of Sam." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxx

Over two hours later Spencer, Morgan, and Elle were following Hotch, Gideon, and Detective Bennett into the sanctuary of a church.

"So this is where terror starts." said Detective Bennett.

"How'd they find him?" asked Gideon.

"Night janitor." said Detective Bennett.

"He see anything?" asked Hotch.

"No, but he remembered a parishioner who was here earlier." said Detective Bennett.

"So there's a potential witness." said Hotch.

Detective Bennett pointed at a woman who was sitting with a nun.

"Right there." said Detective Bennett.

Morgan and Elle decided to interview the woman while Spencer headed to the body with Hotch, Gideon, and Detective Bennett.

"First public killing. He's getting bolder, huh?" asked Gideon as Spencer crouched down a bit.

"He didn't let his surroundings alter his method. He's meticulous. The presentation have been as important as the killing." said Hotch.

A minute later Spencer was looking over the body with the crime scene tech while Hotch and Gideon joined Morgan and Elle, and a few minutes later Spencer noticed something in Father Breeman's ear.

"Ahem." said Spencer.

The crime scene tech looked at Spencer as he gave him some room.

"I'm sorry. Would it be possible to maybe... Slide that thing out of his ear?" asked Spencer.

The tech sighed as he pulled out a piece of metal causing Spencer to grimace when he realized what was in Father Breeman's ear before Spencer joined the rest of his team.

"He's not using just any knife. It's made of flint." said Spencer.

"As in stone?" asked Elle.

"In Egyptian mythology, flint was the symbol for protection and retribution. With hieroglyphics, they used to depict dangerous animals like scorpions and snakes being cut with flint knives in order to render them powerless." said Spencer before they headed back to the body.

Gideon looked at the body before looking at Hotch.

"Anything strike you as strange?" asked Gideon.

"The blood's all on the inside." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxx

The next day Spencer was standing by the laptop and projector in the police department's bullpen knowing that he was in charge of showing the crime scene photos to the officers.

"We know believe these killings aren't random. We might be dealing with a vigilante. The unsub first shoots his victims in order to subdue them. Flint knife then provides both an efficient kill and symbolic retribution. Finally, the victim is blindfolded, like the statute of lady justice. This particular unsub, he displays both a heightened- it's actually almost a poetic sense of right and wrong." said Gideon.

"Serial vigilantes are extremely rare. The exaggerated drama of these killings suggest that they're somehow personal. He, or someone close to him, is likely the victim of a violent crime. His first killing was possibly against his original attacker. And since then he's developed an overblown sense of justice in order to justify that killing to himself." said Spencer.

"Because he chooses the imagery of lady justice, it's possible we're dealing with someone who works in or around the criminal justice system. Lawyer, paralegal, bailiff, even a judge." said Gideon.

"We'll cross-check unsolved murders against suspects in assault cases and victims who work in the system." said Detective Bennett.

"Whatever the unsub's job, he's someone who's a cog in the machine. He's overworked, undervalued. He's used to not being noticed. His sense of theatrics is a way to enhance his own self-esteem, convince himself he has a higher purpose. And he also knows that people look right through him. Being faceless is his best defense against protection. He's everyone. One last thing. We need you to close ranks. The more details slip out, the more he'll feed off it. We don't want him believing he captured the public's fear or imagination." said Gideon as JJ approached them.

"Too late. The afternoon edition's leading with the vigilante story." said JJ as she showed a newspaper.

"How did they get it?" asked Detective Bennett as Gideon pulled on his reading glasses.

"I don't know." said JJ.

"You were worried about this guy becoming another Son of Sam. Now we might be dealing with a vigilante folk hero like Bernhard Goetz." said Gideon.

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Later on that evening Spencer was fumbling with his chopsticks while wishing that he brought the child friendly chopsticks that he and Clarissa have for Diana and himself.

"So you know there was a big hole in the profile you presented back there." said Hotch as he glanced at his brother-in-law who was having trouble with his chopsticks while remembering that Clarissa told him that she was never able to teach Spencer how to use chopsticks properly.

Gideon looked at Morgan.

"Can you pass the moo shoo, please?" asked Gideon.

Morgan passed Gideon the bowl.

"What's the hole?" asked JJ.

"I left out the possibility our unsub might be a cop." said Gideon.

"Well, the do know the system. They're definitely overworked and underpaid." said Morgan.

"They see so much injustice every day they can easily take matters into their own hands." said Hotch.

Spencer tried to pick up a noddle as he talked.

"When someone like our victim is killed, police refer to the murder as a public-service murder." said Spencer before trying to pick up more food with his chopsticks.

"You know how many rapists I saw walk during my sex-crime days? None of the victims, they didn't want to press charges. Or the juries, they said that she was asking for it. It was enough to make you explode." said Elle.

"It's a long way from feeling like that and actually committing murder, don't you think?" asked JJ.

"Not really." said Hotch.

Spencer saw a waitress causing him to flag her down.

"Excuse me. Can I get a fork, perhaps?" asked Spencer.

Morgan and JJ laughed while Spencer looked at his teammates.

"Did you know that experts credit Confucius with the advent of the chopstick? He equated knives with acts of aggression." said Spencer.

"You don't know how to use them, do you?" asked a smiling Morgan as he held up Spencer's discarded chopsticks.

"Despite aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon trying to teach me how to use them, I could never grasp the concept of using chopsticks because it's like trying to forage for dinner with a pair of number 2 pencils." said Spencer causing some laughter.

"OK, here, let me help you." said JJ as she grabbed Spencer's chopsticks and used one of her hair ties to help Spencer out.

"Oh, the rubber-band trick." said Morgan as he watched JJ wrap a ponytail holder around Spencer's chopsticks.

"Yeah, rubber-band trick." said JJ before handing the chopsticks back to Spencer.

"Well, New York City cops do have a lot of pressure on 'em. Every move they make is scrutinized." said Morgan.

Spencer examined the modified chopsticks as he thought about how Clarissa did the same trick for him even though he failed.

"You know, the first cases of criminal profiling happened when a New York city cop asked a criminal psychiatrist friend to help with the mad bomber case." said Gideon.

Spencer used his modified chopsticks to try and pick up food.

"The mad bomber was a major inspiration for the unabomber. He eluded cops in New York for 16 years, starting in 1940. But he kept his promise and never set off a single bomb during the second world war." said Spencer.

"Psychiatrist James Brussels, he developed a profile so accurate he predicted that when they caught the bomber, he'd be wearing a double-breasted suit and it would be buttoned." said Gideon.

Elle laughed.

"You guys, we're here in New York and even when we're not talking about our case, we end up talking about another profiler." said Elle.

Spencer ended up dropping one of his vegetables.

"You're right." said Hotch before looking at Elle as he thought back to the conversation they had on the way home from Philadelphia, "So, Elle... Are you seeing anyone?" asked Hotch.

Morgan and Elle laughed before Elle looked at Gideon.

"Uh, Gideon... Why didn't you tell the cops that it might be one of their own?" asked Elle.

"If we're gonna catch the guy, we need all the help the cops can give us. The last thing I want to do is accuse one of them of murder." said Gideon as his phone rang.

JJ looked at Spencer who was still struggling.

"How's it going there?" asked JJ.

"Awesome." said Spencer sarcastically as Gideon answered his phone, "It's absolutely incredible. 1.3 billion people stay nourished using these things." said Spencer as he held up his chopsticks that aren't cooperating with him.

"Yeah. OK. I got it." said Gideon before hanging up, "He just took out a cop killer." said Gideon causing everyone to stop eating.


	32. A Real Rain Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts the morning after the end of chapter 31 and the identity of the drunk driver is revealed in this chapter.

The next morning Spencer was sitting in the police department's bullpen by Hotch.

"His name's Shawn Cooley. One year ago, he killed 2 port authority cops, and he walked because the only witness against him was shot 6 times outside his apartment." said Detective Bennett.

"It might be worth having your men re-canvas this morning. People are more likely to talk in the day. They feel safer." said Gideon as he approached Spencer and Hotch.

"I'm already on it." said Detective Bennett.

JJ approached Spencer, Hotch, and Gideon.

"More bad news. It's the same reporter every time. Lance Wagner. He's practically deifying him." said JJ as Hotch looked at the newspaper she handed him.

"I'm not even happy with the results when God plays God." said Gideon.

"You know, a few of the men were talking about making him wish list of other dirtbags." said Detective Bennett.

"Some day a real rain will come and wash all the scum off the streets"." read Hotch.

"Taxi driver." said Spencer.

"This town loves a psychopath." said Detective Bennett.

"Why hasn't he contacted the press yet?" asked Spencer.

"Reid's right. He's got the symbolism, the inflated sense of duty. He should be seeking out acclaim." said Hotch.

"Maybe it's not about acclaim with him. He's on a mission. Maybe it's about the work." said Gideon.

"Yeah, but the last 2 cases were a cop killer and a pedophile priest. Those are higher profile cases." said Hotch.

"He's getting more confident." said Spencer.

"He's grown into his role of the city judge and executioner." said Gideon.

"I'll check the press archives for controversial acquittals. Maybe we can target the victim before the unsub, have the police waiting on him." said JJ as she walked away.

Elle approached them.

"Hey, guys. Listen to what came off the tip hotline." said Elle as she played a recording.

"I got a tip. Let the guy be." said a male.

"How come the NYPD wants to catch this guy? Are you jealous he's doing the job better than you?" asked a female voice before Elle turned off the recording.

"It goes on for half an hour." said Elle.

"He's a hero." said Gideon.

"The exact same thing happened with the Goetz-New York subway shooting in the early eighties." said Spencer.

Gideon looked at Spencer.

"You would have been three-years-old back then." said Gideon.

"I read a lot." answered Spencer simply.

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Spencer was going through files with Elle while Hotch looked at Morgan.

"Do you have any idea how many cases-" said Hotch.

"122, 998 cases a year." said Morgan as he thought about his earlier phone call from Garcia.

"We'll check it out. Maybe there's someone with a history of erratic behavior who worked in the building. Crime groupies. A security guard that fits the profile. Get with JJ see what you can make of her case list." said Gideon.

"OK." said Morgan before walking away.

"I'll go with you." said Elle.

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A short while later Spencer was following Hotch and Gideon into a court house.

"Ever crossed your mind?" asked Hotch.

"Taking the law into my own hands?" asked Gideon.

"Not the law, justice." said Hotch.

"What's this about? The boys in Iowa?" asked Gideon while not even caring that Spencer was listening.

"It's just a question." said Hotch.

"I guess if I think if I ever let my mind go there, then the unsubs would be getting into my head instead of me getting into theirs. That wouldn't be a good idea, now, would it?" asked Gideon.

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A short while later Spencer and Hotch were interviewing an old African American man.

"He's small, meticulous. You might not notice him at first, but when you do, you realize he's heard everything around him." said Hotch as they walked.

"He might have had a personal brush with crime. When it happened, he talked bout it all the time. But now you realize he hasn't mentioned it in quite a while." said Spencer.

"And when the subject of the vigilante comes up, he expresses his support, but it's not something he would bring up in conversation himself." said Hotch.

"Well, if people are being honest with you, that's most of the people in this building." said the man before looking at Spencer and realized that he looks so young, "How old are you?" asked

"24." answered Spencer.

"I'll give you 6 years. That point, a tiny part of your brain will be asking if what this guy's doing isn't the right way to go." said the man as he clapped Spencer on the shoulder before walking away.

A few minutes later Spencer approached Gideon who was reading a newspaper.

"Anything?" asked Gideon.

"Uh-uh. You?" asked Spencer.

"No." said Gideon.

Spencer thought about earlier and how Hotch never told him about Iowa despite knowing him for over five years and nearly four months.

"What happened in Iowa?" asked Spencer.

Gideon stopped reading his newspaper and removed his reading glasses.

"It was one of the first cases Hotch and I worked together. Small town, two boys had been murdered, same signature. The profile led us to the local 4-H leader. We went to interview him, the guy, he was so excited. He had a shotgun. Our guns were drawn. At some point, he turns the shotgun on Hotch. Instead of firing, Hotch talks him down the guy surrenders." said Gideon.

"Sounds like pretty good work." said Spencer as he thought about his brother-in-law.

"At trial, the guy's wife gave him an alibi for both murders. Small town. They all knew each other. The jurors believed her. Eventually they got him when he killed another boy." said Gideon as Hotch approached them.

"Any luck?" asked Hotch as he noticed a look on his brother-in-law's face.

Gideon passed Hotch the newspaper he was reading.

"This guy's not doing us any favors." said Hotch.

Spencer shook his head.

"His access is unbelievable. He's practically scooping us." said Spencer.

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Later on that night Spencer was standing outside the interrogation room.

"His name's Will Sykes. He's a security guard at a boutique in Soho." said Elle.

"He was a mugging victim last year. Spent 2 days in intensive care." said Morgan.

"Fits the profile." said Spencer.

"How's it going in here?" asked Elle.

"He just confessed to all the murders." said JJ before they decided to focus on the interrogation before realizing that he's not their unsub, "Why would he confess to murders he didn't commit?" asked JJ.

"Because he has narcissistic delusions. He wants the glory. He wants to be a star." said Morgan.

"He went into the park hoping that somebody would mess with him." said Elle as Gideon and Detective Bennett joined them.

"He killed your undercover officer but not the others." said Gideon.

"So where dos that leave us?" asked Detective Bennett.

"We know our unsub has a heightened sense of right and wrong. If he knew that he inspired a would-be vigilante to murder an undercover cop, he might feel remorse." said Spencer.

Gideon looked at JJ.

"You think you might be able to mend fences with the reporter, Wagner?" asked Gideon.

"If it played to his ego, yeah." said JJ.

"We might be able to draw the unsub out. That's a good one." said Gideon before walking away.

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The next day Spencer was sitting on a desk next to Hotch as they watched a funeral on TV causing Spencer to think back to his aunt's and uncle's funeral since his aunt and uncle were killed a week after his uncle did that kill shot causing him to be presented an American flag and officers doing the 21 gun salute despite his aunt and uncle being cremated.

"Wagner said this morning that the cop's blood is all over the vigilante's hands." said Spencer.

"How did JJ get him to cooperate?" asked Hotch.

"The unsub may feel a need to be there, to physically mourn for what he caused. If that article lures him, Wagner gets to claim he caught a murderer. It's the ultimate scoop." said Gideon.

"Will they know how to spot him?" asked Detective Bennett.

"I briefed your men. If the unsub's there, he'll be alone, out of place, not speaking to anyone else, probably not even making eye contact. Hopefully, he'll panic, draw attention to himself." said Gideon.

Detective Bennett was almost tearing up at the sound of the bagpipes.

"I can never get that sound out of my head. Wakes me in the middle of the night. If there was any justice, cop killers would have to hear it for an eternity." said Detective Bennett as Hotch's phone rang.

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Spencer was walking towards a court house with Hotch and Gideon.

"That means that anyone who knows the details of that case had to have been in the courtroom." said Hotch.

"Court reporters take their work home with them." said Gideon.

"They get paid overtime. They take their notes in court and finish transcribing them at night." said Hotch.

"You know what Bennett said about not being able to get the sound of bagpipes out of her head? Maybe that's why the unsub stabs the ears." said Gideon.

"Killers often harm their victims in ways that they themselves have been harmed." said Spencer.

"Court reporters, by definition, are a faceless cog in the machine. He sits there day in and day out transcribing testimony." said Hotch.

"What if the voices wouldn't stop when you left the courtroom?" asked Gideon.

Spencer instantly knew what Gideon meant.

"They witness at the church said that the unsub was playing a piano-like motion." said Spencer as he ended up demonstrating.

"Or transcribing." said Hotch.

"Killings a good way to get the voices to stop, huh?" asked Gideon as Hotch called Garcia.

"Holla." said Garcia.

"I need the name of the court stenographer in each of the victims' original trials." said Hotch.

Garcia started typing before speaking.

"Same one every time. Marvin Doyle." said Garcia.

"Cross-check him against crime records. See if he was ever the victim of a violent crime." said Hotch.

"Not him. His parents killed in an attempted robber, '04." said Garcia.

"That's his stressor. Is he still working?" asked Hotch.

"100 center, courtroom 12-B." said Garcia.

Hotch hung up before looking at Spencer and Gideon.

"We've got him." said Hotch causing Spencer and Gideon to follow him into an SUV.

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Spencer entered a court room with Hotch as a guard stopped them.

"Marvin Doyle. Is that him?" asked Hotch as he showed his badge.

"Doyle called in sick." said the guard quietly.

Spencer and Hotch looked at the painting that was hanging on the wall and Spencer instantly knew that they are in the same room as the day before causing Hotch to look at Spencer who had the same thoughts as him.

"We were in this courtroom yesterday." said Hotch quietly.

"He saw us." said Spencer.

Hotch looked at the guard.

"Tell your judge I need a warrant." said Hotch as he handed him his badge, "Take that." said Hotch.

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Spencer stood outside of Marvin Doyle's apartment as he waited to breach the apartment with his teammates.

"Marvin Doyle. FBI. Open up." said Gideon.

After there was no answer, an officer kicked down the door for them, and a minute later Spencer was looking at pictures causing him to noticed a face scribbled out.

"He ripped the speakers out of the television and the radio. And here is life insurance check for $250,000. It's 2 years old. He didn't cash it." said Elle.

"He won't accept blood money." said Gideon.

Spencer held up the picture he was holding to Gideon as Hotch approached them with a box.

"Here's a box full of flint knives. There's got to be a hundred of 'em." said Hotch.

"Hey, guys. Come take a look at this. It's a stenography machine. Look at the keys. They're all worn out." said Morgan causing everyone to look at the transcripts.

"It's like he was trying to transcribe the voices in his head and he couldn't keep up." said Gideon.

"Looks like hieroglyphics." said Elle as she looked at the transcripts.

Spencer looked at the transcript.

"It's called steno. It's basically a phonetic series of syllables. No court reporter takes notes the same way so no one can translate them but the reporter himself." said Spencer.

"He's getting paid overtime to study potential victims." said Gideon.

"He knows we're onto him. He's racing us now." said Hotch.

"Someone in these boxes is targeted to die. We need to get inside his head and figure out who so we can stop him." said Gideon as he started opening boxes causing everyone else to grab one, "Let's go. Start fishing'." said Gideon.

Spencer easily lifted a box, and less than a minute later he was going through the reports, and a few minutes later Morgan came over with two boxes.

"This is a lot of boxes. How are we supposed to narrow it down?" asked Morgan.

"Check and see if it ended in acquittal. If it didn't, toss it aside." said Gideon as he put a file aside.

"It has to be a capital case. He's escalating. The more brutal the better." said Hotch.

"Why not go by most recent?" asked Elle.

"Judging by his elaborate filing system, Doyle obviously has obsessive-compulsive disorder. People with OCD often finish tasks then go back to the beginning and start over." said Spencer as he thought about his own OCD.

"So he continually goes through the transcripts and the first one to trigger him becomes his next victim." said Morgan.

"Here's one. This is a liquor store owner who was shot with his own gun." said Elle as she read the file.

"Flip to when they present the defense. Did the defendant testify?" asked Hotch.

"No." said Elle.

"Stick with the ones where the accused took the stand. This is personal. He hears their voices." said Hotch as he continued to go through files.

"Doyle's victims all claimed to be a type of victim themselves. They first two threw themselves on the mercy of the court, pleading alcohol and drug dependency. The priest said he was a victim, victim of recent hysteria." said Gideon.

"Look for key phrases: victim, mercy, anything that signifies they thought their crime wasn't their fault." said Hotch.

Spencer looked at the file he was reading and realized that he probably found the next victim.

"I think I might have one, guys. Ted Elmore. He shot and killed both his parents after claiming self-defense for years of physical abuse." said Spencer.

"Doyle lost his own parents. Hearing someone get away with killing their own, that would haunt him." said Gideon as he quickly called Ted's home and a few minutes later they were rushing over to Ted's apartment.

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Later on that evening Morgan looked at Spencer who was looking through an old photo album as he thought about how Spencer was leaving for Vegas on Sunday for the 20th anniversary of the death is parents.

"Do you know what happened to the person who killed your biological parents?" asked Morgan.

"Because of my dad being a successful lawyer at the time of his death, the law firm that my dad worked for made sure that I got justice." said Spencer.

"Did your uncle ever tell you the name of the driver?" asked Morgan.

"Lou Jenkins, and a week prior to my parents being killed, his six-year-old son Riley Jenkins who was on the same little league team as me was killed by a pedophile named Gary Michaels who was targeting me next." said Spencer causing some gasps.

"How did you know that?" asked JJ.

"My mom loved writing a journal, so every day until her death she would write about her day." said Spencer as he ended up using his eidetic memory to recite what his mother wrote about Gary Michaels and how his uncle arrested him later on that afternoon, "And despite losing my parents a few days later, I'm grateful that my mom sensed that something was wrong causing her to save my life." said Spencer.

"Is Lou Jenkins still in prison?" asked Morgan.

"He ended up passing away from cancer seven years ago." said Spencer.

"So other than visiting your parents grave and visiting your adopted aunt. are you going to be doing anything else in Las Vegas?" asked Morgan.

"Other than visiting with family friends that I keep in contact with, I'm definitely going to visit the grief counselor that saw me after my parents deaths since I get a Christmas card from her every year." said Spencer.

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Five hours later Spencer entered his house and he smiled when he saw Clarissa putting a bowl of candy onto the coffee table in front of their couch.

"I thought that we could have a movie night before we head up to bed since I put Diana down an hour ago." said Clarissa.

Spencer tried to reach for a gummy worm when Clarissa lightly slapped his hand.

"Not so fast because I thought that we would eat our snacks with these." said Clarissa as she held up two packages that contained disposable chopsticks.

Spencer blushed as he realized that Hotch ended up telling Clarissa.

"Your brother told you about what happened?" asked a red faced Spencer.

"He did, and I thought that using chopsticks to eat our favorite movie snacks would help you learn how to master using them." said Clarissa.

"So no training chopsticks?" asked Spencer.

"Nope." said Clarissa.

"What movie are we watching?" asked Spencer.

"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." said Clarissa as she held up the DVD.

"Do we have time for me to take a quick shower and change before the movie?" asked Spencer as he gestured to the first floor bathroom.

"Make it quick, and when I hear you turn off the water I will start making popcorn." said Clarissa as she took her husband's go bag.

15 minutes later Spencer and Clarissa started watching "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" as they ate their movie snacks with chopsticks, and halfway through the movie Clarissa was grinning when Spencer was able to get 10 pieces of popcorn into his mouth with chopsticks she looked at her husband.

"As soon as this movie is over, I will give you your reward." smirked Clarissa.

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Nearly an hour later Spencer was groaning when he saw the lingerie that Clarissa was wearing underneath her pajamas causing Clarissa to lead him to their bed.


	33. 20 Year Anniversary & A High School Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Instead of doing Somebody's Watching (Which will happen in the sequel), I decided that Spencer needs to deal with the 20 year anniversary of his parents deaths. Parker Dunley does appear in this chapter.

Spencer smiled when he, Clarissa, Diana, and Lucy approached Alex at the boarding gate for their flight.

"Are you going to tell me how you arranged time off so you could join us?" asked Spencer.

"Georgetown is currently on Spring Break, and I made arrangements for us to give a guest lecture at the University of Las Vegas about profiling and linguistics so I can be there for you during the 20th anniversary of your parents death." said Alex as she hugged Spencer.

Diana who was on her daddy's shoulders grinned at Alex.

"Hi gandma." said Diana.

"Hello, Diana." said Alex as she smiled at the two-year-old girl before looking at Spencer, "Despite you being my godson causing me to love you like a son, I don't mind allowing your daughter calling me grandma." said Alex as she thought about Diana having no surviving biological grandparents.

10 minutes later the Reid family, Lucy, and Alex were boarding their flight to Las Vegas.

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Seven hours later Spencer was talking with Dr. Jesson.

"As much as I would like to allow you to visit your aunt, but I ended up changing her medication yesterday. So no visitors until next week so she can adjust to her new medication." said Dr. Jesson.

"I'm only here until Friday, so can you give her these books?" asked Spencer as he held up a pile of books.

"Certainly, and the next time your in town Elena would appreciate your visit." said Dr. Jesson.

"There's been talk about my teammates and I all having two weeks of vacation at the same time in May, so if that time off is happening I will make sure that I come here." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was shaking his head at Clarissa and Diana before Diana looked up at her daddy.

"Can we pwease go swim?" asked Diana.

"We can go back to the hotel and go swimming." said Spencer.

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45 minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana were swimming in the hotel's swimming pool.

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The next day Spencer stood at his parents grave with Clarissa and Diana before speaking up.

"Hi mom. Hi dad. Today is the 20 year anniversary of the last day I saw you two with uncle Daniel. If you two are watching me from Heaven, you two will know that I'm happy with how my life turned out." said Spencer as he wiped a tear before telling his parents about how their granddaughter is doing.

Five minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana were all laying flowers onto the two graves before Spencer heard a voice that he hasn't heard in almost 12 years.

"Is that you Spencer Reid?" asked an older man.

Spencer turned around to see 30-year-old Parker Dunley who was one of the few students who was always nice to him and got him help during the goalpost incident standing nine feet away from him.

"Hi Parker." said Spencer as he gripped Clarissa's and Diana's hands tighter, "Parker Dunley, this is my wife of three years, three months, and 27 days Clarissa, and our two-year-old daughter Diana." said Spencer.

Parker looked at the pair of headstones that Spencer was standing by and realized that it was the 20th anniversary which would be a good reason why Spencer would be in town.

"After your mom." said Parker.

"Yeah." said Spencer sadly.

Clarissa rubbed her husband's shoulder.

"Spence has told me about you and how you were one of the few students who was always nice to him while convincing him to help coach the basketball team." said Clarissa.

Parker raised his eyebrows at Clarissa's southern accent.

"My father worked at the same precinct as his uncle, so I knew that I needed to protect Spencer the best I could." said Parker.

Diana looked up at her daddy.

"Daddy?" asked Diana.

"Yes, Diana?" asked Spencer.

"Up." said Diana.

Spencer instantly scooped up his daughter and settled her onto his hip.

"Can you say hi to Parker?" asked Spencer.

"Hi." said Diana shyly before putting her head into her daddy's neck.

"She's cute." said Parker.

"Other than being an extreme daddy's girl, she's smart like her daddy while having my outgoing personality." said Clarissa.

"Seems like she has gotten the best from both of you two since she's a perfect mixture of you two." said Parker as he noticed that Diana has her father's curly brown hair and her mother's blue eyes.

"We know, and she also have my two older brothers wrapped around her finger just like I do." smirked Clarissa.

Parker looked at Spencer.

"So what are you doing these days since the last time I saw you, you were moving to Connecticut?" asked Parker.

"I'm a profiler for the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI in Quantico, Virginia." said Spencer.

"I always thought that you would most likely go down the law enforcement route because of your uncle." said Parker.

"Uncle Gordon thought that I would like working for the BAU since he worked with profilers before." said Spencer.

"How is he these days?" asked Parker.

Spencer sighed sadly.

"He and aunt Ethel were killed by a drunk driver over five years ago." said Spencer.

"I'm sorry man." said Parker.

"Its okay, and if it wasn't for Clarissa, I don't know what I would be doing with my life today." said Spencer.

"What do you mean?" asked Parker.

"I met Clarissa two days after aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon were killed, and after grieving for two weeks I ended up asking her out." said Spencer.

Parker looked at Clarissa.

"So what does the lovely Mrs. Reid do for work?" asked Parker.

"I'm a pediatric nurse at Children's National in Washington DC." said Clarissa.

At that moment Diana's stomach decided to growl causing Spencer to chuckle before looking at his wife.

"I guess its time for lunch." said Spencer.

"Yeah." said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at Parker.

"Want to join us so I can find out what your doing these days?" asked Spencer.

"Sure." said Parker as he started walking with the little family.

"So why were you visiting this cemetery?" asked Spencer.

"I was visiting my father's grave, and when I saw you I decided to approach you." said Parker.

"Uncle Gordon came out here for the funeral eight years ago." said Spencer.

"I know." said Parker.

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20 minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, and Parker were sitting at a table in a diner when Spencer looked at Parker.

"So what are you doing these days?" asked Spencer as he took a bite of his chicken noodle soup.

"I own an art gallery in Los Angeles, and I'm in town because of our 12 year high school reunion is happening two days." said Parker.

"Even though I always keep up with the news in this city, I haven't thought about attending it since there were classmates who always hated me even though I gained popularity when I helped our school's basketball team win." said Spencer.

Parker looked at Spencer who was opening another package of saltine crackers for Diana.

"Our former classmates who got expelled after the goal pole incident aren't allowed to attend any reunions, and there are a few classmates that wants to make amends with you." said Parker.

Spencer looked at his wife.

"Do you want to go?" asked Spencer.

"Since you already attended my five year high school reunion with me last month, we should at least attend this one since we're in town for the week because our work schedules might cause us to miss the next reunion." said Clarissa.

"We'll go since we made sure I packed a couple of suits while you packed a couple of dresses so we can have a couple of date nights while we're here." said Spencer.

"Who would watch your daughter?" asked Parker.

"My godmother and our live in nanny ended up coming out here with us so we can have child free evenings." said Spencer.

"Lucy?" asked Diana as she looked around for her nanny.

"She's with your grandma Alex right now." said Spencer.

A minute later their food arrived causing all three adults to start eating their burgers and fries while Diana enjoyed eating her spaghetti.

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An hour later Spencer knocked on the open door of Dr. Hannah Green office and Hannah smiled when she saw her former patient while realizing that Spencer was the patient that came in under a name she never heard of.

"Well this is a nice surprise for my 1 PM appointment." said Hannah as she got up and hugged the 24-year-old man.

"I'm in town for the 20th anniversary of my parents deaths, and I kept my promise of visiting you the next time I'm in town." said Spencer as she looked at the woman who was Gideon's age.

"Did you bring your wife and little girl?" asked Hannah as she thought about how she attended Ethel's and Gordon's funeral, attended Spencer's wedding, and attended Diana's baptism.

Spencer stepped aside to allow Clarissa and Diana into the room, and after Hannah hugged Clarissa she insisted that Diana sits on her lap.

"Whenever I see you or hear from you, you help remind me that there are former patients of mine that ends up successful with their lives as adults." said Hannah as Diana sucked on a sucker that she gave the little girl.

"I know, since working for the BAU has shown me that I could have turned out worse." said Spencer as he squeezed Clarissa's hand.

"Your aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon would be proud of you along with your parents." said Hannah.

"I know." said Spencer just as Diana reached for the Rubik cube that was on Hannah's desk.

"Do you want your daddy to solve it?" said Hannah as she thought back to the first time she watched Spencer solve a Rubik cube in front of her.

Spencer laughed.

"Diana loves to slip one of the various Rubik cubes I have at home into my messenger bag, so there are times that I am solving one of my Rubik cubes as a way to stim." said Spencer as he thought about his 2×2 cube, 3×3 cube, 4×4 cube, and his 5×5 cube.

"Look in your bag daddy." said Diana as she pointed at her daddy's messenger bag.

Spencer shook his head as he started to look through his messenger bag, and he laughed when he pulled out his 5×5 cube.

"Your such a silly girl, baby girl." said Spencer as Clarissa took the Rubik cube from her husband and started twisting it around while making sure her husband isn't watching before passing the 5×5 Rubik cube back to her husband while starting a stop watch so she could time her husband.

"She will grow out of that nickname if you two eventually have another little girl." said Hannah as she watched Spencer solve one of the hardest Rubik cubes.

"I know, and we talked about waiting until I'm 25 to try for our second child so Diana can be three and a half when she becomes a big sister." said Spencer as he continued to quickly solve his Rubik cube.

"When you two finally have another child I expect baby pictures since I like to display accomplishments of my past successful patients." said Hannah as she gestured to the bulletin board that contained pictures of Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana while including newspaper articles that deals with Spencer's FBI career.

"I promise." said Spencer as he held up the solved Rubik cube causing Clarissa to groan when she stopped the stopwatch.

Hannah looked at the clock before looking at Spencer.

"We only have a half hour left until my next appointment." said Hannah just as Diana yawned.

"Its definitely nap time for Diana, so I hope you don't mind if we leave early." said Spencer.

"Not at all." said Hannah.

A few minutes later Spencer who was carrying a sleeping Diana left his former psychologist's office with Clarissa.

xxxxxxxxxx

Two evenings later Clarissa was tying her husband's tie before looking at her husband who opted to wear his contacts instead of his glasses.

"Your going to be fine, and if anyone tries to go after you, you can arrest them for assaulting a federal agent since my brother had you bring your badge and Glock." said Clarissa before she put on her high heeled shoes.

Two minutes later there was knocking on their hotel room door, and a few seconds later Alex and Lucy entered the room with Diana.

"You two look lovely." said Lucy as she took in the sight of Spencer wearing one his best suits with a red tie and Clarissa who was wearing a strapless knee length red dress while having her long dark brown hair pulled into a curly ponytail.

"I called a cab for you guys." said Alex.

"How long until it gets here?" asked Clarissa.

"10 minutes." said Alex.

Diana looked at her mommy and daddy.

"You two look pretty." said Diana.

"Thank you, sweetie." said Clarissa.

"You be good for grandma Alex and Lucy, and we will see you in the morning for breakfast." said Spencer.

"OK, daddy." said Diana.

After Spencer and Clarissa hugged and kissed their daughter, the young married couple headed outside to wait for their taxi.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer and Clarissa entered Spencer's old high school, and a minute later they met up with Parker who had their name tags ready for them.

"Thanks." said Spencer.

"I already planned that we sit with a few members from our class's basketball team." said Parker.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa entered the gym hand in hand while Parker led them to a table that contained a few basketball players that was on the team with Parker while ignoring the whispers from past students who saw him with Parker.

"Look who I found in town." said Parker as Spencer pulled out a chair for Clarissa to sit down in before taking a seat in the chair next to Clarissa.

"You definitely gotten taller Spencer, and you ended up getting married before me." smiled Jacob as he took in the sight of Spencer's wedding band that was on Spencer's left ring finger before introducing his fiancée to Spencer.

"I ended up dealing with a growth spurt in college, and this is my wife Clarissa." said Spencer as he introduced some of the basketball team while the men he introduced either introduced their wives, fiancées, or girlfriends.

"Nice to meet you guys." said Clarissa causing everyone to realize that Spencer married a southern girl.

"When did you get married?" asked Lucas.

"We got married on November 30th of 2002 in my wife's hometown of Manassas, Virginia." said Spencer as he ended up telling his former classmates about how he met his wife while listening to condolences after he mentioned that his aunt and uncle died two days prior to meeting Clarissa.

"Do you two have any children?" asked Samuel's wife Jessica.

Spencer and Clarissa beamed as they thought about their little girl.

"We have a two-year-old daughter named Diana, and right now she's with her nanny and my godmother who both insisted on coming out here with us since I'm in town for the 20th anniversary of my biological parents deaths." said Spencer while noticing a few sad smiles from past students who remembered that Spencer was raised by his aunt and uncle since his parents were killed in a car accident when he was four.

"What are you doing for work that would require a nanny?" asked Jessica.

"I'm a profiler for the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit down in Quantico, Virginia." said Spencer as he ended up explaining about what he does for work.

"I always thought that you would be doing big things in your life." said Lucas.

"So what do you do Clarissa?" asked Lucas's wife Bethany.

"I'm a pediatric nurse at Children's National in Washington DC, and we have a live in nanny because one week a month I work third shift so we want to make sure to have proper childcare around just in case Spence gets called in while I'm at work." said Clarissa.

"I'm also a nurse." smiled Jessica just as two 30-year-old women came over causing a few basketball players to glare at them.

"So little Spencer Reid finally showed up." said Alexa Libson.

Spencer turned around from his spot causing him to see Harper and Alexa who were both 17 on the day of the goalpost incident and how their boyfriends ended up in jail that day while noticing tan lines or no rings on their left ring fingers causing him to realize that he has done much better than them.

"Its Dr. Spencer Reid." said Spencer as he ended up standing up while Clarissa also stood up too and rested a hand on her husband's back.

Clarissa gave Harper and Alexa the Hotchner glare before smirking at her husband.

"I would actually have you go by Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid." smirked Clarissa.

"Who are you?" asked Alexa as she took in the sight of the young woman.

Clarissa held up her left hand and showed off her late mother in law's engagement ring and her gold wedding band.

"I'm Spencer's wife of over three years, Clarissa Reid." said Clarissa before smirking, "I know about everything that you two did to my husband, and I certainly treat him much better than you two women did." smirked Clarissa as she turned around and grabbed her husband's tie and pulled him into a kiss while ignoring the wolf whistles from the men that got along with her husband.

As soon as Spencer broke out of the kiss he smirked at his wife before whispering in her ear.

"As soon as we get back to the hotel we should continue what your doing." whispered Spencer.

Clarissa blushed before smirking at her husband.

"Better keep that promise tonight because tomorrow morning we have to focus on being parents to our beautiful two-year-old daughter while enjoying the rest of our vacation before we head back to DC so we can go back to being known as the profiler and the nurse by my two older brothers." smirked Clarissa.

"Your daughter must not like having you as her father when it comes to your rambling and statistics." said Alexa.

Spencer smirked as he pulled out his wallet and showed off a picture of a grinning two-year-old Diana on his shoulders.

"She's an extreme daddy's girl who is showing signs of being a genius like me while having her mother's outgoing personality." smirked Spencer before looking at his wife, "Should we go dance for a bit before I end up having to tell my former classmates about what I did with my life due to being valedictorian?" asked Spencer.

"We certainly should, and luckily they're currently playing the song that we danced to during our first dance as husband and wife." said Clarissa.  
Spencer led his wife to the dance floor, and a minute later Clarissa looked at her husband as they danced on the dance floor.

"You OK, Spence?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes, and I know that at 24-years-old, I'm working my dream job that allows me to make this country a safer place, married to one of the most beautiful girls in the world, while having a beautiful daughter who adores me, I know that I won it all." said Spencer as he twirled his wife on the dance floor.

xxxxxx

Three hours later Spencer and Clarissa were undressing each other while passionately making out before falling into their hotel bed.


	34. Easter & Charm & Harm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided not to do Machismo due to the timeline for that episode not fitting this timeline, so this chapter deals with Charm and Harm.

Spencer and Clarissa quietly crept into Diana's bedroom and they smiled as they watched their little girl wake up and react to the big stuffed bunny that was sitting at the foot of Diana's bed.

"Bunny!" squealed Diana as she got out from under her covers and crawled over to her new toy.

"Happy Easter, Diana." said Spencer.

"What are you going to name her?" asked Clarissa as she thought about the trip she and Spencer made to Build A Bear Workshop and how Spencer spoke into the recorder.

Diana looked at her bunny who was wearing a yellow dress.

"Anne." said Diana.

"After Anne Shirley?" asked Spencer.

"Yes." said Diana.

Spencer sat on his daughter's bed and looked at his daughter.

"May I please show you something cool?" asked Spencer as he gestured to Anne.

Diana nodded.

Spencer took the stuffed bunny and gave it a hug causing his voice to sound.

"Daddy loves you so much, baby girl." said the bunny with Spencer's voice.

Diana's eyes went wide causing her to take the stuffed bunny and hug it.

"Daddy loves you so much, baby girl." said the bunny with Spencer's voice.

"I love my bunny." said Diana.

Clarissa looked at her daughter.

"You can play with Anne later because its time for you to get into the dress that Lucy made for you to wear today before we have breakfast and leave for church." said Clarissa as she thought about the white dress with lavender colored roses and how Diana was going to wear her old Easter bonnet that belonged to her when she was a little girl.

Spencer looked at Clarissa who was already wearing the dress that Lucy made for her with the same fabric that Diana's dress was made from while thinking to the new suit that Clarissa convinced him to buy.

"I'll go put on my new suit." said Spencer as he thought about his new light gray slacks, his new lavender dress shirt, a purple tie, and a button up light gray vest that matches his slacks.

xxxxxxx

30 minutes later Lucy was taking a picture of the Reid family in their new outfits for Easter Sunday before the family of three and Lucy left for 8 AM Easter service.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

A couple of hours later Spencer and Clarissa were eagerly helping their daughter search for Easter eggs during the Easter egg hunt that their church was having for the kids while thinking about the additional Easter egg hunt that they were going to have for Diana after nap time.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day Spencer was sitting at his desk doing paperwork while Elle finished up a phone call while Morgan looked at Elle.

"What?" asked Elle.

"We've only been here an hour. You've made two calls." said Morgan.

"And?" asked Elle.

"You hate the phone, Elle." stated Morgan.

"I don't hate the phone." said Elle.

"Actually, you do." said Spencer before looking at Morgan and Elle, "Did you know that Alexander Graham Bell and Eli Gray simultaneously invented electronic sound transmission devices? It came down to a race betwixt the two." said Spencer.

"Yes, and Bell beat Gray to the patent office by a matter of hours." said Elle as Spencer squinted at her, "Common knowledge." said Elle.

"Why are you acting so weird?" asked Morgan.

Elle turned her chair and looked at Morgan.

"We're sitting with a guy who knows that there are 800 kernels of corn." said Elle.

"On the average cob... Ranged in 16 separate rows." said Spencer as he continued to look at his computer.

"And you're calling me weird?" asked Elle.

"You got some lovin'. I knew it. You got a boyfriend." smiled Morgan.

"You are basing this on what exactly, that I don't like the phone? You've been a profiler for how long, Derek, and that's-that's weak." said Elle as she thought about how good Spencer was at hiding Clarissa and Diana from Morgan, JJ, and Garcia.

"What's weak?" asked JJ as she joined them.

"Nothing." said Elle as she stood up.

"Morgan thinks Elle has a boyfriend." said Spencer as he closed down his computer and got up.

"Nothing. See? You just denied it." said Morgan.

Spencer followed Elle and JJ.

"Do you?" asked JJ.

"It's more fun not to answer that question." said Elle.

"That right there is a yes, baby. I knew it. I told you." said Morgan.

"She doesn't want to admit to anything, man." said Spencer as he headed towards the conference room.

Elle gave Spencer a smile.

"Thank you." said Elle.

"Reid, trust me. You've got a lot to learn." said Morgan.

Both Spencer and Elle both inwardly smirked as they both knew that Morgan was wrong.

A few minutes later Spencer was standing in the conference room while JJ briefed them.

"FBI Tampa has been investigating a series of murders Over the past two months along Florida's Central Gulf coast." said JJ.

"I consulted with the SAC down there. They had a strong lead." said Gideon.

"And DNA evidence. All four women were killed by this man Mark Gregory." said JJ as she showed a picture of Mark.

"If they know who he is, he's not really an unsub. Why are they calling us?" asked Spencer.

"They weren't able to arrest him before he disappeared." said JJ.

"They let a serial killer get away? How long has he been missing?" asked Hotch.

"About 36 hours, along with this woman- Nicole Wegener." said JJ as she showed a picture of Nicole.

"What do we know out the other victims?" asked Hotch.

"They were all abducted within a 60 mile radius, tortured and then drowned in hotel bathtubs." said JJ as Gideon got up and looked at a map, "They were all found a couple of days after they were reported missing." said JJ.

"Same geographical area, and he's killing in hotels instead of private, controlled environments." said Morgan.

"He can pay for privacy in a hotel room." said Elle.

"Let's just hope he's not heading for Orlando. It's second only to Las Vegas in the number of hotel rooms." said Spencer as he thought about the hotel that he, Clarissa, Diana, Lucy, and Alex stayed at three weeks ago.

"Well, knowing who he is is certainly part of the equation, but it's a long way from knowing where he is." said Hotch.

"A serial killer who's been sussed out and is on the loose, he's got two choices. He's either hiding or, worse, he's on the run." said Morgan.

"And if Gregory feels like he's got nothing to lose…" said Hotch.

"He's got the whole country ahead of him." said Gideon.

A few minutes later Spencer was sending Clarissa a text message.

GOING TO FLORIDA. I PROMISE TO STAY SAFE, AND I LOVE YOU AND DIANA. ~ SR

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was standing on the jet with his arms crossed while JJ came into the cabin area with files that she had faxed over.

"This is everything the Tampa office has on Mark Gregory. He's a single white man, 38 years old. Graduated from FSU. Started his own real estate company with a business partner 5 years ago. He frequently travels for work around the country, sometimes overseas. Just last year he purchased a very lavish home in Sarasota." said JJ.

"What was he doing before he got into real estate?" asked Morgan.

"It says he raced cars after college, even worked as a chef at a French restaurant." said JJ.

"Jack of all trades." said Elle.

"Yeah, he's plenty mastered. He worked as a staff photographer for a couple of magazines along the central coast before transitioning to work with models in Miami." said Hotch.

"It's strange so many serial killers Make a hobby of photography. It must have something to do with the act of voyeurism." said Spencer.

"What about his bank accounts and credit cards?" asked Morgan.

"They seized everything after he disappeared 36 hours ago." said JJ.

"So when he uses his credit cards or goes to his house or work, then they've got him." said Elle.

Gideon who was holding a bottle of water looked at his team.

"I heard enough about Mark Gregory. I wanna hear about his victims." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer stood in the temporary command center in Sarasota with his teammates.

"Gregory used different forms of torture with each one. Choking, burning, suspension, and beating." said Hotch.

Spencer who was standing by Gideon and his brother in law looked at Morgan, JJ, and Elle.

"Drowning was the only constant. They were all classified as "wet drownings, " which means the victim was alive when they were submerged. They could feel their lungs filling up with water. It's an extremely painful way to die." said Spencer.

"Why would he take the time? They were barely alive after all the torture." asked JJ.

"Drowning's a form of torture, too, and it's all part of the signature." said Hotch just as SSA McCarthy entered the room.

"SSA Raymond McCarthy." said Raymond as he held out his hand to Gideon.

Gideon shook hands with Raymond.

"SSA Jason Gideon. We spoke on the phone." said Gideon before Raymond moved to Hotch and shook his hand.

"Sorry for the temporary setup. We wanted you closer to where Mark Gregory lives. Please continue." said Raymond.

"We were just discussing drowning as a cleansing ritual." said Spencer.

"If we look back into Gregory's childhood, we may find what he needs to purge." said Morgan.

"You think that's the best use of our time? We're itching to find this guy. He got away on our watch." said Raymond.

"By studying his behavior as a child, it helps us understand why he does what he does." said Hotch.

"You know everything about this killer except why he does it. So the further we go back, the further ahead of him we might get." said Gideon.

"Were you able to connect Gregory to all 4 victims?" asked Morgan.

"He had a previous relationship with the first woman he killed." said Raymond.

"We can look into that as the possible stressor." said Elle.

"The second and third were acquaintances from business deals. The fourth worked at a restaurant the same time he did." said Raymond.

"What's his connection to the missing girl?" asked Hotch.

"We can't find anything. Gregory's big news in Florida. When do we hold a press conference to alert the entire country?" asked Raymond.

"Hopefully we'll find Gregory before we have to." said JJ.

"So if we split up, we'll cover more ground. Does he still have family in the area?" asked Gideon.

"His dad's close by." said Raymond.

"Why don't we start from the present and work our way backwards. Reid and I will go to Gregory's house." said Gideon as he looked at Spencer.

Spencer nodded at Gideon.

"Elle and I will talk with business partner, Hank Bloomberg." said Hotch.

"I'll comb through some of the evidence here." said JJ.

"Garcia's gonna want an update. I'll catch up with her." said Morgan as he thought about the possible flirting session they would have.

"Good. Let's meet back here in 2 hours. If he's following his previous pattern, We have less than 12 hours to find Nicole Wegener alive." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer entered Gregory's living room as he thought about how his and Clarissa's five bedroom Victorian house had practically every room painted despite the two bedrooms that were being saved for when he and Clarissa have more kids.

"This is a really large house with hardly any furniture." said Spencer.

"Typical bachelor pad. Large sofa, big-screen TV, white walls." said Gideon.

"I noticed a luxury car in the garage, but it's at least 10 years old." said Spencer as he thought about his classic Volvo.

Gideon saw two food and water bowls and a couple of toys.

"Where are the dogs?" asked Gideon.

A few minutes later Spencer was looking through Mark's closet.

"Gideon, check this out. This guy's got, like, 20 different suits." said Spencer as he recognized the designs, "Some Italian. Some Taylor. Some leisure suits. He's got a mechanic's uniform. Wide assortment of watches and wallets. Approximately 20 different pairs of shoes." said Spencer as he continued to go through Mark's walk in closet as he thought about the walk in closet that he and Clarissa shares.

Gideon started going through driver licenses.

"Take a look at all these driver licenses. He can start his own DMV. Feed those to Garcia. Travels around the country To buy and sell different properties." said Gideon as he walked into Mark's office.

"Probably reinvents himself with each deal he makes. Plays a different role." said Spencer.

"Dresses up to impress a rich investor And dresses down for a poor farmer." said Gideon as he snapped his gloves back on.

"This guy's a chameleon. He can adapt to any situation. From the outside, this house seems clean and shiny. But it's like all for show, Like it's a facade to hide what's really going on." said Spencer.

"Drawer full of catalogs. Uniforms for law enforcement, Construction, janitorial, military. What do you think he needs these for?" asked Gideon.

Spencer looked at what he found.

"Probably has something to do with this. Someone's trying to disguise himself." said Spencer as he passed Gideon what he found causing Gideon to hold a picture next to Mark's drawing.

xxxxxxx

After they got back to the command center, Gideon looked at everyone.

"We found evidence at his house that he acclimates well to different surroundings. Possible disguises." started Gideon as he looked at the task force.

"He's emptied his bank accounts and he's put his dogs in a kennel. We're certain he's left the area and he's not coming back. And since he's on the run, this classifies him as a "spree killer."" said Hotch.

"Usually this type of killer guided and random." said Spencer.

""Guided" means that this killer stays in his particular geographic area or comfort zone until he breaks down." said Elle.

"That's why he killed the first 4 women in a 60-Mile radius." said Raymond.

"That's right. And we're hoping he's still there. In the guided phase, they usually have a final destination in mind." said Morgan.

"Like Edmund Kemper and Andrew Cunanan, they saved their most meaningful kills till last. We should find out who that would be for Gregory." said Hotch.

"When the random phase begins, the kills seem to be without design. There's less time in between them. At that point, he's lost total control." said Spencer.

"And as he devolves, he's gonna take more victims and become less noticeable." said Elle.

"What does that mean?" asked Raymond.

"In Gregory's case, his M. O. Is the torture. That would mean he will torture less And spend more time on the thing that gives him sexual release-drowning." said Gideon.

"So it's very important that we find him while he's still in the comfort zone. After that, there's no telling where he'll be." said Hotch just as his cellphone rang, "Excuse me." said Hotch before walking away.

"We'll get a release out to all the major networks. His face and possible disguises will be all over the country by dinnertime." said JJ just as Hotch came back.

"They just found the missing girl's body." said Hotch.

"Close by?" asked Morgan.

"No Georgia." answered Hotch.

Morgan looked at Elle.

"Come on now looks like we're going to Georgia." said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was going through records when Hotch entered the room.

"Elle and Morgan just landed in Georgia. They'll be at the hotel in about 20 minutes." said Hotch.

"So Florida's not his only comfort zone." said Raymond as he looked at a map of the Southeastern United States.

"No. Apparently, he's set up businesses throughout the southern US." said Hotch.

"We'll have warnings along I-95 and I-10 in case he decides to travel along the Gulf Coast." said Raymond.

"Well, now that he's crossed state lines, it's a nationwide search. He doesn't wanna get caught, so he'll probably alter his route and drive quieter roads." said Hotch.

"We'll prepare for that, too." said Raymond.

"These records indicate that he went to high school in four different states." said Spencer as he thought about how he has lived in Nevada, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and finally Washington DC.

"So they moved around a lot. Let's talk to his father, find out why." said Gideon.

"Maybe he's revisiting places where he feels comfortable. The latest hotel records indicate that he checked in using his own name." said Spencer.

"If he doesn't want us to catch him, what's he doing, taunting us?" asked Raymond.

"No. Taunting would imply that this is some sort of game. It isn't. He's made it very clear that he has no intention Of going back to his life as it was. This is a one-way trip." said Hotch.

"There's DNA proving he's the offender. No point in covering his tracks now. That'll only slow him down." said Gideon.

"And if he wanted us to catch him, he'd simply stop running. It's not likely. He's got 400 grand in cash." said Hotch.

"That type of money he can charter a plane or buy a ticket to virtually anywhere in the world." said Spencer.

"Well, he's not hiding. He's hunting." said Gideon.

"Besides, driving works for him. It's anonymous, and he can cover a lot of territory. We should notify the Mexican and Canadian border patrols. He might try leave the US." said Hotch.

"Let them know most spree kills end with suicide by cop. It could be how he plans on getting out of his mess." said Gideon.

xxxxxxx

Spencer stood in Doug Gregory's house with Gideon.

"I still can't understand how my son could be responsible for this." said Doug.

"Your son's a narcissist with a split personality. He's able to gain his victim's trust Before inflicting pain upon them. This is most likely derived from an incredible amount of self-awareness." said Spencer.

"Mark has mastered the art of manipulation. It only allows you to see his good side." said Gideon.

"This is a nightmare." said Doug.

"Why won't you sit down, Mr. Gregory." said Gideon as he made his way to the couch causing Spencer and Doug to follow suit before continuing, "You moved around a lot when Mark was growing up?"

"Mark never complained. I guess it's because he was always good at making friends. He fit in wherever we went." said Doug.

"We know he's been to Georgia. Do you know where else he night go? Anyplace he loved to visit, anywhere he'd call home?" asked Gideon.

"Well, we've lived here the longest. He would consider Florida home." said Doug.

Gideon looked at pictures and didn't see Mark's mother.

"Mark's mother isn't in any photos." stated Gideon.

"Elizabeth died in a car accident." said Doug.

"I'm sorry." said Gideon.

Spencer instantly thought about the losses he dealt with at four and 19.

"How old was Mark when that happened?" asked Spencer.

"10." said Doug.

"Were they close?" asked Spencer as he thought about his uncle telling him that he was closer to his mom than his father who wanted him to do more normal activities before their deaths.

Doug looked at Spencer in shock.

"She was his mother." said Doug.

"Typically, when a child loses a mother, he sees her as a victim, which, theoretically, he'd wanna protect women. More likely to lash out against the father, blaming men for needing punishment, but Mark didn't do that." explained Spencer.

"'Cause you and Mark were close?" asked Gideon.

"Yes." said Doug.

"Any reason he would have blamed his mother for her death? Was she drinking and driving, fell asleep at the wheel? Anything?" asked Gideon.

"No. No, no. Nothing like that." said Doug.

"Maybe he blames her because he thinks she abandoned him." said Spencer.

"Lost of a female figure could explain why he was a peeping tom in adolescence." said Gideon.

Doug laughed.

"Are you telling me that young boys aren't curious?" asked Doug.

"Sure they're curious, but not all of 'em peek into windows. What about the statutory rape charge?" asked Gideon.

"Aw, nah. Mark had just turned 18, and his girlfriend was 15. They were kids, for god sake. It was her parents that pressed charges." said Doug.

"Mark ever have to take responsibility for anything?" asked Gideon.

"What are you saying? That being a protective parent has turned my child into a killer?" asked Doug.

"No. I'm saying you're making excuses. I'm not sure it did him any favors." said Gideon.

xxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting on the edge of a table while Hotch was looking at a file while Garcia's face was on the open laptop.

"It looks like the first victim wasn't being unfaithful. She had a husband and was trying to keep it a secret." said Hotch as he thought about how he and Spencer are keeping their relationship status as brothers-in-law a secret.

"Sounds like he found out." said Spencer.

"There must have been something major in his past to trigger such an extreme reaction." said Hotch.

"Maybe something with his parents' relationship had scarred him during childhood." said Spencer.

"Hey, guys, I found Mark Gregory's car at Atlanta international airport." said Garcia.

Raymond looked over at the laptop.

"Pretty smart. There's a sea of cars at the airport." said Raymond.

"But he parked in short term and he got a ticket." said Garcia.

"There must have been another reason for him to dump it there." said Hotch.

"Guys, I know we ruled out flying, but it's hard to ignore the fact that his last known location was a place that literally had thousands of international flights a day." said Spencer.

"Thousands of people. All possible victims." said Gideon.

"Garcia, is it possible to run the face recognition software at the airport?" asked Hotch.

"I'm already on it. I went ahead and started with the security footage at the parking garage since we know he was in there." said Garcia.

"Knowing what he looks like's got to be some advantage to us." said Hotch.

"And... It is. I'm uploading to you right now." said Garcia.

"Thanks." said Hotch.

A minute later Spencer was watching the security camera footage with Hotch, Gideon, and Raymond.

"She seemed like his type." said Raymond.

"He's looking for the easiest target. He doesn't have time to waste." said Hotch.

"Who doesn't trust a man in uniform?" asked Gideon.

"He helps her. She returns the favor and gives him a ride." said Hotch as he thought back to the day and his sister and Spencer met and how Clarissa didn't want to leave Spencer alone.

"Fatal mistake." said Gideon.

xxxxx

Spencer was sitting at the table with his chin resting on his hands while he stared at a glass of water.

"Let's review what we know. Gregory will continue to drown. The question is why does he have to." said Hotch.

"We know someone who murders by drowning wants to invoke fear. If water symbolizes emotion that says they're overwhelmed by their own unresolved issues or facing some sort of major life crisis, it suggests a release of the old is necessary to emerge and begin anew." said Spencer.

"So there's something he's trying to purge or cleanse by killing these women?" asked Raymond.

"I think it's exactly right." said Spencer.

"That's the key to unlock why he kills." said Gideon.

An agent approached them.

"Excuse me, gentlemen. Sorry to interrupt." said the agent before telling them the news about another victim.

xxxxxxx

Spencer was looking at all the information that was posted on the clear board when Hotch, Gideon, and Raymond approached him.

"You see something?" asked Gideon.

"No. I was just thinking about the information you released about Mark Gregory at the press conference." said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"What about it?" asked Hotch.

"Well, we described him as someone who's engaging, confident, poses as people with authority. But this is a guy who's flying under the radar." said Spencer.

"So, what, we made a mistake?" asked Raymond.

"No, not at all. We're dealing with a killer who's highly intelligent and incredibly resourceful. You would think that we've pushed him to change what he's doing." said Spencer.

"To what?" asked Raymond.

Spencer picked up the sketch book.

"Maybe he's not using a simple ruse anymore." said Spencer.

"He could alter his appearance so he's barely recognizable, just like in the sketch book." said Gideon.

Hotch looked at Gideon.

"If he does that, we'd have no idea what we're looking for." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting at a table when Garcia called Hotch.

"Hotchner. I'm gonna put you on speaker." said Hotch as he put his phone on speaker.

"Hospital records show Mark Gregory fractured a vertebrae when he was 10. He suffered damage to his spine, ligaments, and neck." said Garcia.

"What caused that type of injury?" asked Gideon.

"Whiplash." answered Spencer.

"Behold the wonderful genius of Dr. Spencer Reid. Honey, that's exactly what the rest of the hospital record says. I did some more digging. I found an article in the Polk County paper describing the crash." said Garcia causing Spencer to think about how Clarissa loves to call him 'Honey'.

"What did it say?" asked Hotch.

"The headline reads that Elizabeth Gregory died in a crash. But her 10-Year-Old son was only injured." said Garcia.

"Mark Gregory was in the car with her." said Hotch.

"Apparently." said Garcia.

"We need to talk to Gregory's father, find out what else he's keeping from us." said Gideon as he got up and motioned Spencer to follow him.

xxxxxx

Spencer stood by Doug while Gideon looked at pictures.

"Well, I know you guys didn't come here to look at pictures of my son. Did something happen?" asked Doug.

"Why are there no memories of your wife here?" asked Gideon.

"Why would I want to remind my son of the most horrible thing that ever happened to him?" asked Doug.

Spencer instantly thought about how his uncle made sure that he always had pictures of his parents so he would remember them while making sure that he would get to inherit his parents books.

"Normally when a parent dies, the other parent tends to overcompensate by building a shrine of pictures, leaving their personal effects untouched sometimes for years. You didn't happen to do that." said Spencer.

"Why didn't you tell us your son was in the car when your wife died?" asked Gideon.

"I didn't think it was important." said Doug.

"You didn't think it was important. You didn't think it was important to tell us your son witnessed his mother dying?" asked Gideon.

"No." said Doug.

"The fact that he witnessed his mother die at such a young age clearly affected how he regards women." said Spencer as he thought about how he didn't let his parents deaths and eventually his aunt and uncle's deaths stop him from forming a relationship with Clarissa.

"Do you know why your son married for such a short period of time?" asked Gideon as he thought about watching Spencer get married at 21-years-old and how Spencer and Clarissa were still going strong.

"Yes. It was a mistake. He was young." said Doug.

"Well, we talked to his ex-wife. Mark was obsessed with thinking she was unfaithful." said Gideon.

"It could happen." said Doug.

"But she never was. But he made life unbearable for her. She couldn't leave the house. She couldn't take a breath without worrying about it." said Gideon.

"Something must have happened to feed that distrust, to give him such a distorted view of relationships." said Spencer.

"How were things with your wife, Mr. Gregory?" asked Gideon.

"Normal and uneventful." said Doug.

"Was she being unfaithful?" asked Gideon.

"What?" asked Doug.

"Did she pick men up?" Gideon.

"All right, all right. Enough. Stop. Uh... When she couldn't find a babysitter, she would take him with her to the motel, let him play by the pool. This went on for over a year. What kind of mother would do that?" asked Doug.

"Did you ever take him to therapy, Mr. Gregory?" asked Gideon as he thought about how Spencer had to deal with a lot of therapy growing up.

"No." said Doug.

"Why?" asked Gideon.

"I didn't think he needed it." said Doug.

"Didn't think he needed it?" asked Gideon.

"No." said Doug.

"Boy watches his mother die. He lives, she dies. You don't think that's confusing to a 10-year-old?" asked Gideon.

"I didn't say that." protested Doug.

"You did say that." said Gideon.

"Mark was smart enough to know what was going on. That explains his issues with infidelity, his hatred towards women, and now why he tortures and drowns them. His first victim was married. She was having an affair with him, which-It clearly reminded him of what his mother did to you."  
said Spencer.

"You think your wife's death was an accident?" asked Gideon.

"I honestly don't know." said Doug.

"Well, what do you know? What do you think? Do you even know what I'm talking about?" asked Gideon.

"I - OK. I had my suspicions." said Doug.

"Your son did what you thought about doing a hundred times. These are innocent women. Innocent women, Mr. Gregory. Ever occur to you your son might be trying to stand up for you in his own sick, demented way because you weren't there? You weren't there, Mr. Gregory." said Gideon.

"I-." said Doug.

"Help us before he kills again and again and again. Help us, Mr. Gregory. Help us." said Gideon before storming out of the house causing Spencer to chase after him.

"Gideon. Gideon." said Spencer as Gideon stopped walking, "You do know that Doug Gregory isn't the killer, right?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, I know that. But he protected one, And now at least six women are dead because of it." said Gideon before storming away.

xxxxxxxxx

"Garcia found a lead in Tennessee. Allyson Glennon was snatched from a grocery store a couple of hours ago And survived an attempted drowning in a motel pool." said Hotch.

"Motel pool? Doesn't sound like our guy." said Raymond.

"Yeah, I know, except that she's identified Gregory as her attacker and the place is less than an hour from the last killing. Garcia's giving Elle and Morgan details right now." said Hotch.

"Good. Reid and I had another talk with Mark's father. We need to get everybody on the phone." said Gideon.

Hotch quickly contacted Elle.

"Hey, Gideon." said Elle through the phone.

"We think Mark's first victim was his mother." said Gideon.

"What?" asked Morgan.

"I'm sorry. You're saying a 10-year-old killed his own mom?" asked Garcia.

"Well, it's a common theory that sons can fixate on their mothers since their mothers are their introduction to love." said Hotch.

"And if that mother had a negative influence- in this case she was an adulteress it invalidated not only the father but reflected poorly onto the son." said Spencer.

"Mark Gregory was a child, but he was old enough to understand what his mother was doing. He was protecting a weak, impotent, passive-aggressive father who wanted his wife dead. He read the old man like a book and lived the life he couldn't." said Gideon.

"Because she was his mother, he saw her as a saint. But because she was a cheater, he also saw her as a sinner." said Spencer.

"There's a good chance he caused the car to crash." said Gideon.

"Do you think the father knew his son was a murderer?" asked Raymond.

"Yes." said Gideon.

"That's why he's so overprotective of him." said Spencer as he thought about how his uncle Gordon was overprotective of him since he reminded him a lot of his sister.

"We need to go through all the evidence from the car accident. Absolutely everything." said Hotch.

"News articles, medical records, police reports. I'm on it." said Garcia.

"We need to do it as quickly as possible. There's a killer on the run and he's grabbing women as he sees them." said Hotch.

xxxxxx

Hotch was looking at a picture of a car.

"Here's a police photo of the car Gregory's mother was killed in. Right there. See the water dripping from under the car?" asked Hotch.

Spencer looked at the picture.

"It doesn't look like a fatal car crash. All the damage was done on the passenger side. What was her official cause of death?" asked Spencer.

"I'll ask Garcia." said Hotch just as Raymond came over with a picture.

"We've got a possible abduction. Kelly Dalton, 28. Eyewitness saw her leaving a parking lot with a man resembling Gregory. She was supposed to pick up her son. Never made it." said Raymond.

A few minutes later Garcia was video chatting with them.

"So he's got a victim and a car. Now all he needs is the location." said Hotch.

"There are 5 sources of water nearby. Closest to the accident is rock creek in..." said Garcia.

"Copperhill, Tennessee. There's where Kelly Dalton was abducted. Morgan and Elle are there right now." said Spencer.

"Reid, one more thing. Elizabeth Gregory's official cause of death was asphyxia caused by immersion in fluid." said Garcia.

"She drowned?" asked Hotch.

"With no discernible damage done by keeping her trapped in the car. What would cause a taller mother to drown and a smaller child to survive?" asked Spencer.

"There's only one way. Mark Gregory held his mother's head under whatever water was in the car." said Gideon.

"His first kill was his most powerful. Well, at least we know where he's going." said Hotch while Gideon walked to the clear board.

"Back to where it all started." said Gideon.

xxxxxx

A short while later Morgan called them.

"It's Morgan. Kelly Dalton's gonna be OK. Gregory's dead. We're coming home." said Morgan causing everyone to go quiet about Mark taking the easy way out while Spencer hung up the phone while thinking about going home to his wife and little girl.

xxxxxx

A couple of hours later Spencer quietly snuck into Diana's room and he smiled at his peacefully sleeping daughter who was hugging her new friend Anne as he ran a gentle hand through Diana's growing curls.

"Daddy loves you so much, baby girl." said Spencer softly.

Diana opened her eyes and grinned when she saw her daddy causing the father and daughter to hug.

"I wuv you, daddy." said Diana.

Spencer gave his daughter a kiss on the forehead.

"Go back to sleep." said Spencer as Diana closed her eyes.

After watching his daughter sleep for five minutes he headed to the master bedroom where he saw the light on in the master bathroom causing Spencer to see Clarissa waiting for him in her robe and their claw foot tub filled with steaming water and bubbles.

"I thought that we could take a bubble bath together before we get some sleep." said Clarissa as she removed her robe causing Spencer to quickly undress before the two 24-year-olds got into the bathtub.


	35. The Fisher King Parts 1 & 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to skip Secret and Lies while going straight to The Fisher King Parts 1 & 2 with an AU twist due to my OC Elena Brown who is Spencer's paranoid schizophrenic adoptive aunt who was introduced in chapter 10.

Spencer looked at Clarissa, Lucy, and Diana as they sat down for breakfast.

"I just have to stop at the BAU to pick up a couple of things before we catch our flight for Las Vegas." said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"I'm glad that we both snagged two weeks off." said Clarissa.

"Me too." said Spencer.

"Is Aaron still giving us a ride to the airport?" asked Clarissa.

"He is, so I'm leaving the BAU with him." said Spencer.

"I see unca Aaron?" asked Diana.

"Uncle Aaron's driving us to the airport, sweet pea." said Clarissa.

"Yay!" cheered Diana.

Lucy looked at Diana.

"While mommy finishes up on packing and your daddy stops at the office, should we pack an activity bag for you for the flight?" asked Lucy.

"Yes." said Diana.

xxxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer was heading to his desk while he heard Morgan talk to Elle.

"You can go on believing that if you want to, but I am not answering my cell phone." said Morgan.

"Okay." said Elle as she clinked her coffee mug with Morgan's.

Morgan noticed Spencer slipping a few things into his messenger bag.

"Oh, there he is. Pretty boy. Last chance. I can get my man to swing you a hotel room for practically nothing. Even you might get a little loving out there." said Morgan.

Elle inwardly smirked as she thought about how Spencer has more game than Morgan while thinking about Spencer telling her that Clarissa also got the next two weeks off so they could have a family vacation in Las Vegas for a much happier reason.

"Thanks anyway." said Spencer.

"Come on, Reid. Live a little?" asked Morgan.

"I have to go. I'm going home since I promised aunt Elena that I would visit during my annual leave." said Spencer before noticing that his ride back to DC was getting ready to leave his office, "Have a good one, guys." said Spencer.

"Bye." said Elle.

10 minutes later Spencer was in the front passenger seat of Hotch's car.

"All packed for Vegas?" asked Hotch.

"Yes, and I appreciate you driving Clarissa, Lucy, Diana, and I to the airport." said Spencer.

"I want to hug my sister and niece goodbye." said Hotch.

"I'm happy that Clarissa was able to get time off again since she took time off in March to help me get through the 20th anniversary of my parents deaths." said Spencer.

"How did she manage to get time off?" asked Hotch.

"With all the overtime she had to pull last month for one of the nurses, her boss told her that the next time I'm on annual leave, she will get the same amount of time off too." said Spencer.

"Do you think this vacation will give me another niece or finally give me a nephew to spoil?" asked Hotch.

Spencer blushed a bit.

"I don't know who's worse when it comes to talking about wanting another niece or nephew to spoil, Sean or you." said Spencer.

Hotch laughed.

xxxxxxxxx

An hour and a half later, Hotch looked at Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana.

"You three have fun on your family vacation." said Hotch.

"We will, and I can't wait to work up my tan." said Clarissa as she gave her brother a big hug.

Hotch knelt down to his niece's eye level.

"I'm going to miss you Diana, but have fun getting to see your daddy's home state while spending time with your great aunt." said Hotch as he hugged his niece.

"I swim in Lake Mead." said Diana.

A few minutes later the Reid family and Lucy were heading into the airport to catch their flight to Las Vegas, Nevada.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer and Clarissa entered Bennington Sanitarium with Diana on Clarissa's hip when Dr. Jesson approached them.

"I'm glad to see you three back here so soon, and your aunt got excited when she found out in one of your letters that you three were coming out here again." said Dr. Jesson.

"I was given two weeks off since my team needed time to decompress." said Spencer.

"And when I told my boss that Spence was given two weeks off, she forced me to take two weeks off due to all the double shifts I had to pull last month." said Clarissa.

"Is aunt Elena having a good day?" asked Spencer as he thought about the policy that Bennington had when it came to children visiting relatives the hospital.

"She currently is, and she's waiting for you three in her room." said Dr. Jesson.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Ready?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer nodded.

A few minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana entered Elena's room where Elena was writing in her journal.

"Hi aunt Elena." said Spencer.

Elena looked up from her journal.

"Spencer." said Elena as she got up and hugged her adopted nephew before hugging Clarissa and Diana, "How long are you three in town for?" asked Elena.

"So we're here for two weeks." said Spencer as he and Clarissa sat down with Diana on his lap, "Here's the Margery Kempe book you've been   
asking for." said Spencer.

Clarissa handed Elena the book, and a minute later Elena was smiling at her nephew.

"That particular book is one of her minor works." said Elena.

"She's your favorite, and you already have her major works." smiled Spencer.

"Thank you, Spencer." said Elena.

"Your welcome." said Spencer.

Elena looked outside and noticed how beautiful it was outside.

"I hope that every minute isn't going to be spent here with me." said Elena.

"We planned a bunch of adventures for us." said Clarissa.

"Like what?" asked Elena.

Spencer and Clarissa started talking about the plans they had, and after a half hour of talking Elena noticed that Diana was getting restless.

"You three should head out and enjoy your afternoon." said Elena.

"We'll stop by tomorrow." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxx

An hour later a life vest clad Diana was happily splashing around in the outdoor hotel swimming pool with her father while a bikini clad Clarissa worked on her tan.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Three hours later Spencer and Clarissa were sitting in front of their laptop and they smiled when they saw Hotch and Haley's faces.

"Jack's taking a nap right now." said Haley.

"Its OK, Haley." said Clarissa.

"How's Vegas?" asked Hotch.

"Much warmer than DC, but I'm glad to be home in Las Vegas for much happier reasons this time." said Spencer.

Haley looked at her sister-in-law.

"You definitely got a tan going on." said Haley.

"We spent three hours by the outdoor pool today." said Clarissa before smirking at her husband, "I had to tell a bunch of woman to back off from my husband when they saw him interact with Diana."

Spencer blushed while Hotch and Haley laughed before Hotch realized that he didn't hear his niece's chatter.

"Where is my niece?" asked Hotch.

"Spending three hours in the water and sun definitely tired her out, so Lucy took Diana to her room so we can spend the evening together since we're going stargazing tonight." said Spencer.

"How was the visit with your aunt?" asked Haley.

"It went well, and we're visiting her again tomorrow." said Spencer just as the oven timer went off.

"We're going to eat dinner now, so how about we video chat the same time tomorrow?" asked Hotch.

"That will work." said Clarissa.

"Give Diana a kiss from us." said Hotch.

"We will." said Clarissa before exchanging goodbyes with her brother and her sister-in-law before closing the laptop and smirked at her husband, "What do you say about having some mommy and daddy time before we go out to eat with Diana and Lucy." said Clarissa as she reached over for her husband's polo shirt and removed it.

xxxxxxxx

Later on that night Spencer, Clarissa, Lucy, and Diana were getting themselves settled onto blankets and pillows that they laid down on the Mojave Desert grounds so they could enjoy a couple of hours stargazing in the desert before they headed back to their hotel.

xxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer and Clarissa were heading up the stairs at Bennington Sanitarium with Diana on Spencer's hip when a nurse stopped Spencer before they could go into the room that Elena was currently in.

"Oh, doctor Reid." said the nurse.

Spencer and Clarissa stopped walking while the nurse rummaged through her desk while Clarissa took her daughter.

"Someone delivered this to the desk last night for you." said the nurse as she held up an envelope.

"What?" asked Spencer as he made his way over to the nurse.

A few seconds later Spencer was pulling out a skeleton key and a note out of a small envelope before Spencer read the note.

""She will die unless you save her, Dr. Reid." Call Gideon. He knows. " read Spencer as he quickly pulled out his phone, and after getting off the phone, he looked at Clarissa who had Diana on her hip.

"I think you, Lucy, and Diana should stay here in Vegas while I head back to Quantico." said Spencer.

"Stay safe." said Clarissa as she gave Spencer a quick kiss.

"Bye bye, daddy." said Diana as she gave her daddy a sloppy kiss.

xxxxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer was on a commercial flight back to Washington DC while taking the nap that Gideon told him to take during the long flight.

xxxxxxxxx

Five and a half hours later Spencer listened to Elle talk to her teammates as he entered the apartment.

"Come on. Are we in the middle of an Indiana Jones movie?" asked Elle.

""The hour be none?"" repeated Hotch.

"Midnight is 00: 00 hours in 24-hour time. Would that be none?" asked Morgan.

"Midnight wouldn't cast a shadow." said Hotch.

""Hour be none." repeated Morgan causing Spencer to walk into the room.

"3 PM." said Spencer before looking at his teammates, "Garcia, told me where to find you." said Spencer.

"3 PM?" asked Gideon as he thought about Spencer telling him that Clarissa, Diana, and Lucy were staying in Vegas.

"It's medieval. The days used to be broken into hourly intervals. The canonical hours of the breviary. Prime: 6 AM. Terce: 9 AM. Sext: 12 noon. Non: 3 PM. And vespers: 6 PM." said Spencer.

Elle looked at the young man who has became a little brother to her while thinking about how she is loving Diana as a niece.

"Reid, do not ever go away again." said Elle.

Spencer smiled to himself as he thought about how he was planning on continuing his vacation as soon as the man who ruined their vacations   
gets caught.

"Medieval. That's why the language changed. Doth." said Gideon.

"Everything this guys does is a clue." said Hotch.

"OK, but, guys, it's 4:35. What do we do? Leave the blade in until tomorrow?" asked Morgan.

"Not if we can block that window out." said Spencer before looking at Gina Sharp, "Do you have any spotlights in your car?" asked Spencer.

"Sure." said Gina as she got up.

"Thanks, Gina." said Elle as Gina left the room.

A few minutes later Spencer was crouching down with a flashlight in the slightly darkened room.

"The sun is right here at 5 PM Morgan, follow the shadows. I move the light higher." said Spencer as he moved the flashlight higher.

Morgan moved a few things.

"Okay. And do what?" asked Morgan.

Hotch instantly knew what his brother-in-law was going to say next.

"Tap." said Hotch.

Morgan started tapping the wall before noticing something.

"It's hollow." said Morgan.

"Definitely an Indiana Jones movie." joked Elle.

Morgan felt the wallpaper.

"Feels like the wallpaper's been replaced." said Morgan.

"Tear it open." instructed Hotch.

Morgan pulled out his pocket knife, and less than a minute later he noticed a box.

"It's a box." said Morgan.

"Take it out." said Hotch.

"Wait We sure it's safe?" asked Spencer as he thought about how he promised Clarissa and Diana that he would return to Vegas safe.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"What, you think it's a bomb? You think he'd be playing this game just to blow us up?" asked Hotch.

"He'd have already done that as long as we've been standing here." said Morgan before he removed the box from the wall and tried to open it, "Locked. You want me to break it?" asked Morgan.

"No. We should process it first." said Hotch.

""The youngest holds the key."" quoted Gideon causing Hotch, Morgan, Gideon, and Elle to look at Spencer.

Spencer found the key in his shirt pocket, and less than a minute later Spencer was slowly opening up the box causing everyone to hear music playing.

"Schubert. The Trout quintet." said Gideon while Spencer pulled out a note.

"Five people fishing." said Hotch.

""Never would it be night, but always clear day to any man's sight. "" read Spencer.

"Well, that was worth it." said Elle.

Gideon instantly noticed a tab.

"The lid. Little tab right under the lock." said Gideon.

Morgan slowly opened up the lid causing them to find a CD and a lock of hair.

"Oh, God." said Elle.

"You have that evidence bag?" asked Elle.

"Here you go." said a tech.

Elle placed the hair into the bag.

"Thy quest" said Morgan.

A few minutes later Spencer was standing close to Hotch.

"They're safe with Lucy who has her gun with her." whispered Spencer.

"Thanks." whispered Hotch.

xxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was in the conference room with his teammates watching the video that was in the music box.

"He moves funny." said Hotch.

"Looks like he's injured or something." said Morgan.

"I assure you... You'll all understand in the end why it must be that way. You might even thank me." said the unsub.

"Don't hold your breath, scumbag." said Elle.

"You know now you're on a quest. A young girls life depends on the successful completion of it. As you can see, she's quite beautiful... And in distress. Now please listen closely for there is one rule and this rule must be followed. The one rule is... Only the members of your team may participate in the quest. Jason Gideon, Aaron Hotchner, Derek Morgan, Elle Greenaway, Spencer Reid, Jennifer Jareau, Penelope Garcia. A quest must be completed in the proper way or it isn't a quest, is it? That's it. One rule. Simple. Now, you will be receiving an item soon that will hold the final clue you'll need to finish the quest. You will find you will also need a book which has inspired many an adventure like mine. Believe me when I tell you I'm truly hope to see you all soon. It will mean a successful end to this adventure... For all of us." said the unsub before the video ended.

"This guy's got pictures of us?" asked Elle.

"What do we do now?" asked Spencer.

"The lock of hair's being analyzed for DNA. There might be something on file." said Hotch.

"I'll get video to enhance the shots of the girl." said JJ.

"Let's get the clues up on the board. Maybe we can make some sense of something." said Hotch.

"We're gonna play this guy's game?" asked Elle.

"Do we have a choice?" asked Spencer as Gideon stormed out of the room.

"Be right back. You guys keep working." said Hotch before chasing after Gideon.

xxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was in the bathroom texting Clarissa.

HALEY JUST SHOWED UP AT THE BAU, AND I AM WONDERING IF YOU WERE CONTACTED AT ALL WITH ANY CLUES? ~ SR

A minute later his phone vibrated.

NO ONE CONTACTED ME EXCEPT HALEY SINCE SHE WANTED TO KNOW IF DIANA AND I ARE SAFE, AND DETECTIVE HYDE HAS UNDERCOVER FEMALE OFFICERS BEING OUR GUARDS. ~ CR

A few minutes later Spencer was back in the conference room with a cup of coffee looking over the paper that Haley delivered

"My eyes are so heavy, I can barely see it." said Elle.

Spencer who slept during the entire flight from Las Vegas to DC looked at his teammates.

"I think it's a coded message of some sort. The unsub said we needed a book, didn't he?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah. "A book that inspired many an adventure. "" said Morgan.

"It's a book code. Each one of these sets of numbers represents a particular word. For instance, the page 118, line 30, word 3. We need to figure out what the words are and fill in the blanks." said Spencer.

"Yeah, but from what book?" asked Elle.

"I don't know. The trouble is it has to be the exact same edition of the exact same book that he used." said Spencer just as JJ entered the room.

"Just got a DNA hit on the lock of hair. Rebecca Bryant. She's been missing out of Boston for 2 years." said JJ.

"2 years?" asked Elle.

"Guys, how are we supposed to figure out which book this code is copied out of?" asked Morgan.

"I have no idea." said Spencer as he watched JJ hang up the picture of Rebecca, "He said we have everything needed to complete the quest." said Spencer.

"The answer's gotta be up there somewhere." said Elle just as Gideon entered the room.

"JJ, get some reporters here as soon as possible." ordered Gideon.

"For what?" asked JJ.

"Just say we need help on a new case." said Gideon.

"Press conference?" asked Morgan.

JJ left the room, 20 minutes later Spencer was looking over everything that was delivered to them.

"A pale clouded yellow butterfly indigenous to Great Britain." said Spencer.

Hotch entered the room.

"How's it going?" asked Hotch.

"The answer to what book we need has to be in here." said Spencer.

"Yeah, but we sure as hell can't see it." said Morgan.

"Yet." said Spencer.

Hotch walked over to Elle and gently shook her.

"Elle." said Hotch.

"I'm awake." gasped Elle.

"I'm sending you home." said Hotch.

"No." said Elle.

"You need to get some rest. We won't do anything without you, I promise." said Hotch.

"Elle, seriously, we're not any closer than we were. Get out of here. Go home." said Morgan.

"But-." said Elle.

"That's an order. Let's go." said Hotch.

Elle sighed as she picked up her bags, and as soon as Elle and Hotch were out of the room, Spencer looked at Morgan.

"When I talked to Gideon at the airport, he told me to get some sleep during the five hour flight." said Spencer.

"Did you?" asked Morgan.

"Slept the entire time since I ended up doing some stargazing the night before." said Spencer.

"You also look like you spent some time in the sun." said Morgan.

"Spent time swimming laps in the outdoor swimming pool at the hotel I stayed at." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Hotch was back in the room and he looked at his brother-in-law who was staring at the book code.

"Reid, how many books do you think are published in a year?" asked Hotch.

"In the whole world? Thousands." answered Spencer.

Morgan chuckled.

"Great, and all we gotta do is find one. You know, I can see this unsub getting' our phone numbers and addresses from the bureau personnel files, but come on, man, it really says in there that Gideon digs Nellie Fox?" asked Morgan.

"Or that JJ collects butterflies?" asked Hotch.

"I didn't even know these things about us." said Morgan.

""Ever would it be night, but always clear day to any man's sight."" recited Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Reid, not again with the poem from the music box, please." said Morgan.

"There's something familiar about it. I think I've heard it somewhere before." said Spencer.

"Thought you had a photographic memory." said Morgan.

"Eidetic memory, and that's primarily related to things I read. Like I said, this is something I think I've heard." said Spencer.

"Which leaves us..." said Hotch.

"Nowhere, that's where it leaves is." said Morgan.

Gideon spoke up from the doorway.

"Not necessarily. How would we proceed if we didn't have all these clues? What's the first thing we'd look at?" asked Gideon.

"Victimology." said Hotch.

"Why this particular victim in this particular place at this particular time?" asked Morgan.

Gideon looked at the white board.

"We have a victim, don't we?" asked Gideon.

"Rebecca Bryant." answered Spencer.

"Missing out of South Boston, Virginia. You can get there in a few hours if you hurry. Take JJ. Find out everything there is to know about this girl." said Gideon.

"You go it." said Morgan as he got up.

"Been letting him lead us around like he's something more than he is." said Gideon as Morgan left the room.

"He's just another unsub. Let's start putting together a profile." said Hotch.

"What you want me to do?" asked Spencer.

"Just keep working on this. If anybody can put it together, you can." said Gideon before following Hotch.

Spencer picked up the picture of Rebecca Bryant and looked at it before getting to work.

A few minutes later Spencer was staring at the words he written on the white board

"Possible Book Titles" Thousands of books published every year. This is impossible. Year... every year." said Spencer before looking through the clues and found what he was looking for, "1963." said Spencer.

A few seconds later Spencer ran into Gideon's office.

"The book has to be the right volume and the right publication date, or the code won't work, right?" asked Spencer.

"Okay." nodded Gideon.

"When you talk about Nellie Fox, it's in regards to the 1959 White Sox. That's the year that's important to you, but for some reason, this is a 1963 card." said Spencer.

"Well, maybe he couldn't find a '59." said Gideon.

"You think a pale clouded yellow butterfly was easy to find, or a... Or a music box that specifically plays "The Trout Quintet"?" asked Spencer.

"So a book published in 1963." said Gideon.

"It has to be. Maybe." said Spencer just as Hotch entered the office.

"The guy who delivered the puzzle to my house just turned himself in." said Hotch.

Gideon got up and followed Hotch.

xxxxxxx

Spencer was standing in Garcia's lair as Garcia spoke.

"This guy is infuriatingly good. He routed his IP through major corporations, crisscrossed it through countries." said Garcia.

"I thought you tracked the hacker." stated Spencer.

"No I only found what he wanted me to find: apartment where Giles was dead. Reid a hacker capable of getting into my systems is going to have amazingly sophisticated equipment. Did Giles's apartment have that?" asked Garcia.

"He didn't have a couch." stated Spencer.

"Exactly. Giles was a smokescreen I should have seen through. But now I have this glorious program I wrote, tracking the hacker through his other identity... Sir Kneighf." said Garcia.

Spencer leaned over Garcia's shoulder as he started spelling the name.

"K-n-e-l-g-h-f." That's an odd spelling." stated Spencer as he leaned over Garcia's shoulder a bit.

Garcia looked at Spencer.

"Do you need something?" asked Garcia.

Spencer stood up to his full height.

"Yeah, is there a database which lists all the books published in a given year?" asked Spencer.

"Individual publishers have lists, I don't think there's anything like a master one, plus it would depend upon the year, because the further back you go, the less likely there'll be any database at all." said Garcia.

"1963." stated Spencer.

"Yeah, OK, that would be an example of extremely less likely." said Garcia.

"Could you do me a favor? Type something into a search engine for me?" asked Spencer.

Garcia nodded.

""Never would it be night, but always clear day to any man's sight."" recited Spencer.

Garcia quickly typed.

"That's from a poem, "The Parliament of." said Garcia.

"Fowls!" Yeah, yeah! Chaucer, my..." said Spencer excitably before he saddened a bit, "My mom use to read me that before she died. It's widely considered as the first Valentine's poem." said Spencer.

"Your mom read you Valentine's poems? Hello, therapy." said Garcia.

"Chaucer. Chaucer, "Parliament of Fowls." Fowls, "Parliament of Fowls, " Chaucer." said Spencer as he the wheels in Spencer's brain started to turn, "It has to be at least 283 pages long, but the poem has to be longer. Something published in 1963. A butterfly indigenous to Great Britain. Why? Something born, Something from Great Britain. Medieval. Medieval. Chaucer. Chaucer was middle English. Middle English spelling of the word "fowls..." "FOWLES"" spelled Spencer before he ran over to Garcia.

"There was a contemporary British author... Fowles. John Fowles. Will you type it into a search engine?" asked Spencer.

Garcia quickly typed.

"He wrote "The Magus", he wrote the "French Lieutenant's Woman"." said Garcia.

"Anything in 1963 published in Great Britain?" asked Spencer.

""The Collector"." answered Garcia.

"Collector... baseball cards, skeleton keys, music boxes. These are things that are collected." said Spencer.

Garcia did some typing before a book cover popped up.

"Reid." said Garcia.

A few minutes later Spencer and Garcia approached Hotch and Gideon.

"We know what the book is. "The Collector" by John Fowles." said Spencer.

"You sure?" asked Gideon.

"Not absolutely. Not until we see if the code works, but I have four separate libraries searching for the 1963 edition published in Great Britain." said Spencer.

"Well done, Reid." said Hotch just as Agent Breen approached them.

"Agent Gideon, there's a call for you on line 2, says it's extremely urgent." said Agent Breen.

"Is there a name?" asked Gideon.

"Sort of. He calls himself the Fisher King." said Agent Breen.

Spencer took the note from Agent Breen and allowed his mind to spell out "Sir Kneighf".

"This could be the unsub, guys." said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Hotch.

"In mythology, the Fisher King is the grail king. "Sir Kneighf, " it's an anagram... for "Fisher King." said Spencer.

"Fisher King's at the end of all grail quests." said Gideon.

A few minutes later Spencer was by the phone.

"Line 2 trapped and traced." said Hotch.

Gideon answered the phone.

"Gideon." answered Gideon.

"What I had to do was not my fault." said the unsub.

"Excuse me?" asked Gideon.

"It was distasteful and barbaric." said the unsub.

"Who is this?" asked Gideon.

"No one else had to be hurt." said the unsub.

"Call yourself "the Fisher King"?" asked Gideon.

"I told you there were rules." said he unsub.

"I'm actually more interested in exactly how you got all those burns." said Gideon.

"Remember this next time you decide to step outside my instructions. Agent Greenaway did not have to die like that." said the unsub before hanging up causing Spencer, Hotch, Gideon, and Garcia to look at each other in shock as they looked at Elle's desk.

"You two focus on the code." said Hotch.

"Yes, sir." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was connecting a librarian to the land line in the conference room.

"Mrs. Valez, are you there?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, Dr. Reid, I am. I have a first edition of "The Collector", published in Great Britain in 1963." said Mrs. Valez as Garcia worked on clearing a white board.

"Wonderful. Mrs. Valez, I'm gonna read you a set of 3 numbers. The first is gonna be a page number, the second, a line number on that page, and the third, a word number in that line. Do you understand me?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, I understand." said Mrs. Valez.

"All right, the first is page 222." said Spencer.

"Page 222. got it." said Mrs. Valez.

"Line 23." said Spencer.

"Line 23. got it." said Mrs. Valez.

"What is the 16th word on that line, Ms. Valez?" asked Spencer.

""The."" said Mrs. Valez.

Spencer looked at Garcia who wrote "the" on the board.

""The"?" said Spencer before looking at the next clue, "Page 91, line 11, word 13." said Spencer.

""Path." Does that make sense?" asked Mrs. Valez.

""The path." Yeah, that absolutely makes sense." said Spencer before continuing, "All right, please go to page 31..." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxx

Garcia looked at the finished riddle with Spencer.

""The path to the end began at his start. To find her first calm her long broken heart. She sits in a window with secrets from her knight. Is it adventure that keeps him out of her sight?"" recited Garcia before looking at Spencer, "Another puzzle?" asked Garcia.

"It's a riddle." said Spencer as he wheels in his brain turned before reciting the poem from earlier, "Ever would it be night, but always clear day." That'd be... that'd be bright light." said Spencer.

Spencer quickly flashed back to when he arrived at Bennington before realizing the answer to the earlier riddle.

"It's never night in Las Vegas." said Spencer.

"Excuse me?" asked Garcia.

Spencer quickly ran to the phone and dialed a number.

"I need to be connected to the field office closest to Las Vegas, Nevada, immediately. Hi. This is Dr. Spencer Reid with the Behavioral Analysis Unit at Quantico. Look, I need my aunt picked up and brought to Virginia in protective custody as soon as possible. We're searching for an unsub who shot one of our agents today, and I think he might know my aunt, and I believe she may be in danger. Yes. She's at the Bennington Sanitarium in Las Vegas. Her name's Elena Brown. She's a patient there." said Spencer before hanging up.

A few minutes later Spencer was in the men's room calling Clarissa.

"Is everything OK, Spence?" asked Clarissa.

"Aunt Elena is being transported to Quantico, but your brother and I both want you to stay where you are with your security detail." said Spencer.

"OK." said Clarissa.

"I'll call you as soon as I can with an update, and as soon as the unsub is arrested and put away I will return to Las Vegas with aunt Elena." said Spencer.

"Please stay safe." said Clarissa.

"I promise." said Spencer.

"Love you." said Clarissa.

"Love you too." said Spencer before hanging up.

xxxxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer was sitting at his desk with the bag that contained the riddle.

"She's OK... Your aunt. Agents picked her up. She's flying here right now." said Garcia as she sat on the edge of Spencer's desk.

"I forgot that she, uncle Gordon, and my mom used to read me this poem. It's funny, huh?" asked Spencer.

Garcia looked at the young man who has lost so much at a young age when it came to his biological parents and adoptive parents.

"Funny?" asked Garcia.

"Should have realized sooner than that. Nobody knows things like the fact that JJ collects butterflies except for me. People tell me their secrets all the time. Think it's cause they know I don't have anyone to betray them to... I kept aunt Elena a secret from you guys until after Ted Bryar took Elle hostage. I... I tell her pretty much everything." said Spencer while knowing that he was telling the partial truth.

"I don't think anyone would mind." said Garcia.

"Do you know that I write her a letter every day?" asked Spencer.

"That's nice." said Garcia.

"It depends on why I write her." said Spencer.

"What do you mean?" asked Garcia.

"I write her letters so I don't feel so guilty about not visiting her while feeling guilty about having her sister move with me to New Haven only to die over six years later." said Spencer.

"Your adoptive parents wanted you to be properly supervised when you attended Yale, and like you told me before they were killed by someone who vowed revenge." said Garcia.

xxxxxxx

Later on that night, Spencer was pouring himself some coffee when he heard his adoptive aunt's voice.

"That's why you're so skinny, you know? Too much coffee." said Elena as she stood between two agents.

"Thanks a lot, guys. I've got her." said Spencer.

The two agents who escorted his adoptive aunt walked away while Elena walked to her nephew.

"You know I'm terrified of flying." said Elena.

Spencer smiled a bit.

"I know, aunt Elena. I'm sorry." sighed Spencer.

"Well, then why did you have those fascists arrest me?" asked Elena.

"Aunt Elena, they're not fascists, and you were not arrested. I'm trying to protect you." said Spencer as he thought about how he didn't want to lose the woman who was like another mom to him.

"By forcing me to do the one thing that frightens me more than anything else?" asked Elena sternly.

"I need to show you something. Follow me." said Spencer as he started walking away causing Elena to follow her nephew as she remembered that her nephew's wife and daughter can't be mentioned.

A few minutes later Spencer led his aunt into the conference room.

"This is where you work?" asked Elena.

"This is where we meet. My desk, you can see it, it's right out there in the bullpen area." said Spencer.

Elena looked at the table.

"The table's round." said Elena.

"Yeah. Just like I wrote you in my letters." said Spencer.

"Yes, just like you wrote in your letters." said Elena before she walked to the evidence board and ripped a bag off.

Spencer ran to his aunt.

"Aunt Elena, no! Don't... don't. You can't grab stuff off the board. This key is evidence. Aunt Elena, the unsub that we're looking for... The... the   
bad guy knows things about my colleagues' personal lives, things that... Only you would know. Do you write about them in you journals?" asked Spencer.

"My journals are none of the government's business!" shouted Elena.

"I'm not the government, aunt Elena." said Spencer.

Elena looked around the room.

"Well, this... Certainly looks like a government office." said Elena.

"Aunt Elena, do you write about my colleagues' personal lives?" asked Spencer.

Elena rested her head in her hands.

"Why did you bring me here, Spencer?" asked Elena.

"I need to ask you some things about a man I think you might know. A bad man. He's killed some people, and he's holding a girl hostage." said Spencer.

"You think I know someone like that?" asked Elena.

"Will you just watch the tape and see if he sounds familiar?" asked Spencer.

Elena nodded causing Spencer to pull out a chair for his aunt before playing the tape.

"I had to make sure I had your complete attention. I assure you, you will all understand in the end why it must be this way. You might even thank me." said the unsub.

Spencer looked at his aunt.

"You do know him?" asked Spencer.

"I'm sure it's... Randall Garner." said Elena.

"Randall Garner?" asked Spencer.

"He was with me at the hospital. He's a very emotionally disturbed man." said Elena just as Garcia entered the room.

"Reid, I got to the end of the IP string. Sir Kneighf, the Fisher King, his name is Randall Garner. He's Rebecca Bryant's biological father." said Garcia.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer watched his adoptive aunt pace the room with Garcia.

"I can't believe she's real." said Elena.

"What do you mean?" asked Garcia.

"Whenever he talked about Rebecca, he never said she was his daughter. He said all his children died in the fire. He spoke of a Rebecca, more in the abstract. I really thought she was a metaphor, not an actual human being. An ideal." said Elena.

"A grail. He thinks he's the Fisher King." said Spencer just as Morgan and JJ entered the room.

"Who does?" asked Morgan.

"Randall Garner, our unsub." said Spencer.

"He believes you're all modern-day knights of the round table." said Elena.

Morgan pointed at Elena.

"Derek Morgan, this is my adoptive aunt, Elena Brown." said Spencer.

Morgan instantly flashed back to Spencer confessing about his adoptive aunt after Elle was held hostage by Ted Bryar.

"It's your aunt?" asked Morgan.

Spencer nodded.

"Ma'am, it's a... it's a pleasure to meet you." said Morgan just as Hotch entered the room.

"So where are we on finding this son of a bitch?" asked Hotch.

Spencer sat down at the round table causing Elena to sit down in a chair by the white board.

"I rechecked all the clues. There's nothing that points to an address." said Spencer.

"The adoption records for Rebecca listed an address of the fire, so I made a call to Nevada, and it's vacant. No one ever rebuilt." said JJ.

"Nevada? So we don't even know what state he's in?" asked Hotch.

"I'll search the tax records, see if he owns any property." said Garcia.

Elena got up.

"Excuse me." said Elena.

Spencer quickly got up and made his way to his aunt.

"Aunt Elena, do you want to wait..." said Spencer

"Just before the agents got me from the hospital, a man delivered this to me. It's a photo of a house with an address on the back." said Elena as she got up and held up the photo she was given.

"Shiloh, Virginia? That's only 10 miles from here." said Morgan.

Spencer was about to go out the door before Elena looked at her nephew.

"You better come back safe because I don't know if I can handle losing you like my sister." said Elena.

Spencer hugged his aunt as he whispered quietly into his aunt's ear so JJ and Garcia couldn't hear.

"I promise, and please don't mention Clarissa or Diana since no one is suppose to know about them." whispered Spencer.

Elena nodded.

"Now go save that girl, Spencer." said Elena.

Spencer quickly left the room with Hotch and Morgan when Garcia looked at Elena.

"What did Reid whisper to you?" asked Garcia.

"He told me to write in my journal." said Elena as she reached into her bag and pulled out her latest journal.

xxxxxxxx

Over two hours later Spencer entered the bullpen with Hotch and Morgan where JJ and Garcia were waiting for them.

"Elle's out of surgery. She's gonna be okay." said JJ.

"Good. Is Gideon still at the hospital?" asked Hotch.

"Yeah. How's Rebecca?" asked JJ.

"She's in the hospital, but she should be all right." said Morgan.

"Physically, maybe." muttered Garcia.

"Thank you, everyone. All of you." said Hotch.

"Well, we could have only gone so far without aunt Elena." smiled Garcia as she, Morgan, and JJ patted him on the shoulder before Spencer headed up to the conference room.

A minute later Spencer entered the conference room where his aunt was writing in her journal.

"Aunt Elena, we found her. Rebecca's safe. You helped us save her life." said Spencer as he looked at his adoptive aunt.

Elena looked up from her journal.

"Is it time for lunch yet?" asked Elena.

"What?" asked Spencer.

"I'm lecturing everyone in "Tristan and Iseult". They're all gathering in my room after lunch." said Elena.

Spencer sighed as he realized that his aunt was having an episode.

"Can I attend the lecture, too?" asked Spencer.

"Have you read any of the material?" asked Elena.

Spencer smiled as he thought about the brief memories he had of his mom reading to him before his uncle spent most of the time reading to him.

"I've had them read to me." smiled Spencer.

"Wonderful. That's the best way, isn't it?" asked Elena.

"Yes, ma'am. By far." said Spencer as he sat down across his adoptive aunt.

xxxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer was reading to his aunt on the jet while being excited about getting to spend the rest of his vacation with Clarissa and Diana before he and Clarissa had to go back to work.


	36. P911

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts four months after the last chapter so now two and a half year old Diana is wearing glasses like both of her parents (Even though Spencer wears his contacts during cases, but for the next couple of chapters he is wearing his glasses like he did on the show).
> 
> With now dong P911 for this story I have to say that I will be sad that this story is close to being marked complete since this story ends at Revelations, but I'm pleased to say that there will be an upcoming sequel for this story.

Clarissa looked at her husband who was cutting up pancakes for their two and a half year old daughter.

"Since your birthday is less than two weeks away, is there anything special you want to do?" asked Clarissa.

"How about have another family portrait done?" asked Spencer.

"Wonderful idea." said Clarissa before looking at her husband and daughter who were both overdue for haircuts, "Are you two ready for me to trim your hair after breakfast?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes." said Spencer.

"Yes." said Diana.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

20 minutes later Diana was watching her mommy wash and cut her daddy's hair before it was her turn to get her hair cut.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that afternoon Spencer entered the library and smiled when he saw Clarissa sitting on one of the couches with her laptop and a few textbooks out.

"Diana's finally asleep for her afternoon nap." said Spencer as he walked to one of their bookshelves and grabbed a book to read.

"At least I have some time today to work on my Masters Science of Nursing degree so I can be one step closer to becoming a pediatric nurse practitioner." said Clarissa.

"How is your degree coming along?" asked Spencer.

"With how much progress I have made, I know that I will earn this degree next May." said Clarissa as she started to explain what she had to do, and when she was finished, Spencer looked at his wife.

"Are you thinking about bumping your future Masters degree into a doctorate?" asked Spencer.

"I decided that a Masters would be enough." said Clarissa before she started to focus working on her degree.

xxxxxxxxxx

Two nights later Spencer was sitting in the conference room looking at the live feed that another agent sent to them.

"40,000 images of child porn are posted every week on the internet, along with the appearance of 20 new children. The appetite for babies as young as 4 months old has soared. Many of these children have been kidnapped and sold into pedophile rings." said Spencer as he thought about the smiling face of his little Diana as a way to control his anger.

"One year ago, the same boy appeared on several web sites used by pedophiles. He was a new face then. After a massive hunt led by our crimes against children unit, the boy disappeared." said Gideon.

"Until tonight when SSA Cole telephoned us." said Hotch.

"Katie Cole?" asked Morgan.

"She was in the BAU, right?" asked Spencer.

"One of the first profilers, clinical psychologist, brilliant." said Gideon.

"She runs the Crimes Against Children Unit in Maryland." said Hotch.

"I always wanted to meet her." said Morgan.

"Really? I heard she's a bitch." said Katie as she entered the room.

"Nobody ever called you that, Katie." said Gideon.

"Well, not to my face." said Katie before becoming serious, "The first time I ever saw him, he appeared in a series of photos. I named him Peter. Now he's being auctioned off when that clock runs to zero." said Katie.

"Auctioned." said JJ.

"His face isn't pixilated." said Gideon.

"Cause the unsub is confident that we're not going to be able to identify him in time." said Hotch.

"What about the site itself? Can't we just track its origin?" asked JJ.

"It's routed through a proxy server in Belarus. Even if that government was friendly, Peter would be gone before we finished the paperwork." said Katie.

"We don't need to worry about the paperwork. We have Garcia." said JJ.

"Better get on that, will you?" asked Gideon.

"Yes, sir." said JJ as she got up and left the room.

"So, what happened a year ago, Katie?" asked Hotch.

"We cross-referenced the images of the boy. We talked to known offenders nationwide. We narrowed the location down to the eastern United States. We had some suspects in, but the trail went cold. Until today." said Katie.

"With all due respect, Miss Cole, how is this time going to be any different?" asked Morgan.

"We have a starting point." said Katie.

"The location where the image was first discovered." said Hotch.

"A chat room. Hosted by an independent web company in Cleveland, Ohio. And this time, I am bringing you all in with me." said Katie.

xxxxxxxxxx

A half hour later Spencer was walking in the hallway outside the glass doors of the entrance of the BAU when he saw Elle standing by the elevators.

"Well, if it isn't Dr. Reid." said a nervous Elle.

Spencer took in the appearance of Elle.

"Elle. Wow." said Spencer as he walked closer to Elle.

Elle noticed Spencer's much shorter hair.

"Nice haircut." said Elle.

"Thanks. I like your haircut, too." said Spencer.

"Is that a boys' regular?" asked Elle.

"Yeah, it is. Do you not like it?" asked Spencer.

"It's totally you." said Elle.

"So you're... Okay?" asked Spencer nervously as Hotch approached them.

"I didn't think you were back till next week." said Hotch.

"I got a text message, so..." said Elle.

"Then it was a mistake." said Hotch.

"Is there a case?" asked Elle.

"Not until you're healthy." said Hotch.

"Yesterday I found myself looking forward to watching a soap opera." said Elle.

"Which one?" asked Spencer.

Hotch shook his head as he thought about the obsession of soap operas that his brother-in-law has.

"Please, can you put me back to work, Hotch?" asked Elle as she tried to use the puppy dog eye trick that Spencer uses to get Hotch to cave in.

"Doctor hasn't cleared you for the field." said Hotch.

"Please, Hotch." begged Elle.

"You need more time." said Hotch.

"I've been out for four months. What I need is to go back to work." said Elle.

Hotch passed Elle a file.

"We're going to Cleveland. Reid's going to the Crimes Against Children Division. Go with him..." said Hotch.

"But I can." said Elle.

"Or go home." said Hotch before walking away.

Elle looked at Spencer who had a slight smirk on his face.

"I'm all yours, Dr. Reid." said Elle.

10 minutes later Elle was driving Spencer and herself to College Park, Maryland when Spencer looked at Elle.

"Just so you know, Clarissa's the one who cuts my hair." said Spencer.

"Does she cut Diana's hair too?" asked Elle.

"She does." said Spencer.

"So how is Diana?" asked Elle.

"She just started wearing glasses last week, and she is excited about wearing glasses just like Clarissa and me." said Spencer.

"That's so adorable." said Elle before looking at Spencer, "Was Clarissa working third shift when you got called in?" asked Elle.

"She doesn't have her week of third shift until October 16th." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer and Elle approached one of Katie's agents.

"Amanda Gilroy. You're the BAU?" asked Amanda.

Spencer shook hands with Amanda.

"I'm Spencer Reid and this is Agent Greenaway." said Spencer.

Amanda shook hands with Elle.

"You're the agent who had contact with the image of Peter." said Elle as all three adults started walking.

"This time. A year ago, it was Katie who first identified him." said Amanda.

"You call her Katie?" asked Elle.

"Everyone does. She hates to be called agent Cole. Make yourselves at home. We just got your warrants approved. Katie and your team are about to pay a visit to the chat room vendor." said Amanda.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was standing by the monitor studying the room that 'Peter' was being kept in while thinking about Diana.

"It looks like the walls are padded." said Elle.

"And the dimensions are strange." said Spencer.

"Strange?" asked Elle.

"It looks like a hall, but smaller." said Spencer.

"A basement?" asked Elle.

"I don't think so." said Spencer just as Amanda joined them.

"Katie just got us access to the original chat room's database. It's coming through now." said Amanda as she pulled up the database.

Spencer looked at the chat room database causing him to sigh.

"Must be thousands of screen names there." said Spencer.

"All encrypted." said Amanda.

"Yeah, but we're only concerned about one. Hugz." said Elle.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer sat pretzel legged on the floor as he watched the live feed with Elle and Amanda with a cup of coffee in his hands

"He's got food and water, a toilet and some toys." said Elle.

"He never has to leave the room." said Amanda.

"That's it!" exclaimed Spencer as he got off the floor, "It's not a room. A room has a door. Even a prison cell has a door." said Spencer.

"There are no windows, so he can't be seen, and the walls are padded so he can't be heard." said Elle.

"The unsub's anticipating becoming a suspect." said Spencer.

"So he's hidden the boy." said Elle.

"If there are no doors, how did he get the boy in the room?" asked Amanda.

"It's like a ship in a bottle. He's built the room around the boy." said Elle.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer studied the live feed as he thought about his own little girl before noticing something.

"Hey, guys." said Spencer.

Elle and Amanda came over to him.

"What is it?" asked Elle.

"I'm not quite sure." said Spencer.

"Wait, do you see how he's looking off camera? Someone's telling him to do what he's doing. A bidder who must want to see him wearing..." said Amanda.

xxxxxxx

Spencer hung up his phone and made his way over to Elle and Amanda.

"They're heading to Alexandria. They want us to look up this address and tell them what's there." said Spencer as he handed Amanda a piece of paper that he wrote the address on.

Amanda quickly typed in the address.

"Plowright." said Amanda.

"Alexandria." said Elle as she started to walk away.

"That location, it's right outside of an elementary school." said Amanda.

Spencer looked at Elle who was grabbing her jacket.

"Where are you going?" asked Spencer.

"We can be there in 30 minutes." said Elle.

"You're not allowed to go anywhere." said Spencer.

"Don't even try it, Reid." said Elle.

Spencer quickly went after Elle.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer quickly got out of the SUV while Elle ran ahead of him towards Hotch.

"Hotch. You already got him?" asked Elle.

Hotch looked at Elle.

"I told you to stay out of the field." said Hotch.

"Yeah, I know. But Reid said that you wanted us here." said Elle.

"No, I didn't." protested Spencer.

"Yes, you did." shot back Elle.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"I'm sure you didn't, Reid." said Hotch.

Elle glared at Spencer as she thought about how Spencer sometimes had Hotch wrapped around his finger.

"Thanks." said Elle.

"The school district has given us permission to search Rawlings office." said Hotch.

"I'm on it." said Elle before lightly slapping Spencer, "Nice one." said Elle.

A few minutes later Spencer was entering Principal Rawlings office with Elle.

"Principal of a school." said Elle.

"As much access to children as possible." said Spencer as he thought about how Clarissa worked with children every day when it came to being a pediatric nurse and a mother.

Elle noticed a book on a table.

"Growing Up Guide for Parents. He's got a library of child psychology." said Elle as she thought about the child psychology books that she noticed in Spencer's and Clarissa's home library.

"He's got a doctorate in it." said Spencer.

"Well prepared pedophile." said Elle.

Spencer looked around the office.

"Elle, you notice anything missing?" asked Spencer.

"Computer." said Elle as she picked up the photo and looked at the youngest family man on the team, "Family man, so, if he does have Peter, he's not keeping him at home." said Elle as she watched Spencer open up drawers.

Spencer noticed a locked drawer.

"Elle, this one's locked." said Spencer.

Elle came over to him.

"Can you move?" asked Elle as she grabbed a penknife out of her pocket.

"Did they teach you that in FBI school?" asked Spencer as he watched Elle unlock the drawer.

"No, they taught me that in Brooklyn." said Elle as she opened up the drawer and pulled out a laptop case and passed it to Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was trying to figure out the password with Elle when Morgan entered the room.

"Tell me we got something we can nail this son of a bitch on." said Morgan.

"Not unless we can break the password on this guy's computer." said Spencer.

"Call Garcia." suggested Morgan.

"Take too long." said Elle.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Come on, genius. Do something genius-like." said Morgan.

"If this guy does have child pornography on his computer and we type in the wrong password, it could trigger a virus that wipes the entire hard drive." said Spencer.

Elle who was looking out the window looked at the principal.

"What's he saying out there?" asked Elle.

"He's a preferential pedophile who claims he's trying to save them." said Morgan.

Spencer quickly perked up.

"Save them. Save them!" said Spencer as he got up and grabbed a piece of paper and placed it against the window and wrote 'Save them' while having the E's backwards causing Gideon, Katie, and Principal Rawlings to see what he's doing before he turned the paper over.

"Mehtevas." said Elle as she watched the principal put his head in his hands, "You figured out the password." said Elle as she motioned Gideon and Katie to bring Principal Rawlings inside.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was heading to Mount Pleasant, Virginia with his teammates.

"She's sure about this, right?" asked Elle.

"If Garcia says that tadpole shirt came from a unit in Mount Pleasant, then I gotta believe her." said Morgan.

"She better be. Mount Pleasant is 60 miles away and there's only two hours left on the auction clock." said Spencer.

"Maybe. If the unsub knows we're on to him, he may move that clock up." said Elle.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer, Morgan, and Elle walked with Reverend Harris who was looking at a picture of Peter.

"Do you recognize him?" asked Morgan.

"I can't say that I do." said Reverend Harris.

"But you're certain that the shirt came from this unit of the Tadpoles, right?" asked Elle.

"It disbanded 6 months ago, before I took over the congregation." said Reverend Harris.

"Why?" asked Morgan.

"I was told there wasn't enough interest. Only a few boys participated." said Reverend Harris.

"Do you have the records of those who did participate?" asked Spencer.

"How could anyone do this to a child?" asked Reverend Harris.

"We need to find this boy. The records." said Elle.

"I'm sorry. I don't think so." said Reverend Harris before remembering something, "Wait. There may be a photo of the Tadpoles." said Reverend Harris as he got up and left the room.

A few minutes later Reverend Harris came back with a picture.

"This may be what you're looking for." said Reverend Harris.

Morgan looked at the picture.

"Yeah, that's him right there. Is there a name, address, anything?" asked Morgan.

"As I said, there are no records left. The church was run pretty sloppily until I took over." said Reverend Harris.

"Let me see that." said Elle as she grabbed the photo and removed it from the frame and looked at the back, "His name's Charlie." said Elle.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer got out of the SUV with Morgan and Elle as they approached Hotch, Gideon, and Katie.

"The name the school has is Charlie Sparks." said Hotch.

"No Sparks in any of the phone directories." said Gideon.

"Garcia can't even find a Sparks within 100 miles for the last 10 years." said Morgan.

"Probably not his real name anyway." said Elle.

"The school said he may have moved away." said Hotch.

"Then we start over again. We don't have a lot of time left." said Elle.

"Guys, maybe we're looking at this the wrong way." said Spencer.

"What do you mean?" asked Elle.

"The behavior, it's odd, right? The unsub apparently listed this kid in school and the Tadpoles until about a year ago. At that point he had pictures of him online in a regular looking room. But now he's in a prison like room with no windows, no doors, completely hidden." said Spencer.

"Preferential pedophiles don't change overnight." said Katie.

"So, what happened a year ago to make him change his behavior so much?" asked Hotch.

"Fear." said Gideon causing everyone to look at him, "Katie almost caught him. You probably talked to him. The unsub's in your records." said Gideon.

Morgan's watched beeped.

"Guys, we just ran out of time." said Morgan.

"I never really had a good suspect. I only did some general interviews with child offenders on the East Coast." said Katie as she called her coworker.

"One of them was the right guy." said Hotch.

"Amanda, hey, I need you to pull all of the original files on Peter's case. Somewhere in my office. Try my desk. I need the names of everyone I interviewed." said Katie.

"Have her call Penelope Garcia at the BAU She'll be able to tell us if we can cross any off." said Morgan.

"You got it? Thanks." said Katie.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was by an SUV with Hotch, Gideon, Katie, and Elle when Morgan approached them.

"All right, guys. Listen up. We might have something. 12 men were interviewed. 8 are back in prison, one is dead. One lives in California, and two  
have last known addresses within 10 minutes of us. A Patrick Forest and a Michael Earlson." said Morgan.

"Patrick Forest isn't smart enough to put this all together." said Katie.

"What about Michael Earlson?" asked Hotch.

"Definitely." said Katie.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer sighed in relief when he saw Hotch and Katie come forward with Peter, and a few seconds later he smiled gently at a teary-eyed Peter.

"Want to see a really cool magic trick?" asked Spencer gently.

Peter nodded as Katie set him down.

Spencer pulled a quarter out of his pocket, and after doing a few slight of hand tricks, Peter looked at Spencer who was holding out his empty hands.

"Where is it?" asked Peter.

"How about you check the pocket of your shirt." suggested Spencer.

Peter reached into his pocket and his eyes went wide when he saw the quarter.

"How did you do it?" asked a wide eyed Peter.

"A magician never reveals his secrets." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next night Spencer looked at Clarissa while they were getting ready for bed.

"I don't think that Elle's ready to come back to work." said Spencer as he explained about how he ran into Elle and how she tried to throw him under the bus.

"She didn't have a mandatory psych evaluation?" asked Clarissa, as she thought about how it was protocol for her husband to have a psych evaluation after doing his first kill shot.

"She didn't." said Spencer.

"Just make sure to talk to her every day, and invite her over for dinner since Diana misses her." said Clarissa.

Spencer chuckled as he thought about how Elle fell in love with his little girl.

"I tell her." said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"If anything traumatic ever happens in the field, I want you to promise me that you'll cooperate with the psychologist that is assigned to you while you don't return to work until Aaron clears you." said Clarissa.

"I promise." said Spencer, as he didn't realize that in about four months he would be dealing with a trauma that would affect him for the rest of his life.

"Now we should get some sleep since we both have work tomorrow." said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were fast asleep in each other's arms.


	37. The Perfect Storm

Spencer and Clarissa woke up to their alarm at 6 AM, and 10 minutes later Spencer and Clarissa who were both wearing their gym clothing were putting a still sleeping Diana into her jogging stroller so they could go for a three mile run.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

30 minutes later Spencer and Clarissa entered the house with a now awake Diana only to find Lucy in the kitchen making coffee while getting ingredients out for breakfast.

"Hi, Lucy." grinned Diana.

Lucy looked at the sweaty young parents as she thought about how every morning since Monday, she would come into the kitchen finding a note from the young parents stating that they went for a run and they were taking Diana with them.

"How was your morning run?" asked Lucy.

"Ran three miles for the fifth morning in a row." said Spencer.

Diana looked up at her daddy.

"You stinky, daddy." said Diana as she wrinkled her nose before looking at her mommy who had an arm wrapped around her daddy's waist, "You stinky too, mommy." said Diana.

Lucy looked at Diana.

"How about you help me make breakfast while mommy and daddy take a shower?" asked Lucy.

"OK." beamed Diana before her stomach growled.

"You can snack on some oranges while you help me cook." said Lucy as she took the two and a half year old girl from her father.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Let's go take a shower, Spence." said Clarissa as she thought about the possible quickie they could squeeze in.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were taking a hot and steamy shower together.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

A half hour later Clarissa looked at her husband as they sat down for breakfast.

"Excited about your 25th birthday on Monday?" asked Clarissa.

"I am." said Spencer.

"I was thinking that we can celebrate your birthday on Sunday just in case your teammates wants to do something on Monday." said Clarissa.

"That's probably a good idea." said Spencer before looking at his wife, "Have you scheduled an appointment with a photographer yet?" asked Spencer.

"Our appointment is on the 17th at 10 AM." said Clarissa.

"OK." said Spencer.

"After I pick out mine and Diana's dresses, we'll pick out your outfit together." said Clarissa.

"OK." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxx

Later on that afternoon Spencer watched the video that was sent to them before JJ stopped the video.

"So... the music's not added like a regular soundtrack. It's in the background, so if you turn it down, you also turn down the voices." said Hotch.

"Can we get Garcia to separate the audio tracks?" asked Morgan.

"She's working on it now." said Hotch.

"The sooner we hear how he talks to the victim, the sooner we'll know what kind of man we're dealing with." said Morgan.

"Tell us about Laura Clemensen." said Gideon.

"20-years-old. Sophomore at Jacksonville University in Florida. Assumed to be the fifth in a series of rapes and murders over the past two years. Some women were abducted in parking lots, others while they were running." said JJ.

"And when was she reported missing?" asked Hotch.

"Technically she wasn't. Roommate thought she was visiting family. Family thought she was at school." said JJ.

"Close to her family?" asked Hotch as he thought about how he was closer to Clarissa than Sean.

"Very. She had dinner with them on Sunday." said JJ.

"That was 5 days ago, and nobody's seen her until now." said Hotch.

"She wasn't killed on the tape. And given forensics, other victims were tortured for weeks before they were killed, so I think we should operate as if she's still alive." said Morgan.

"Not for long, if the bastard gets his way." said Elle.

"Okay, I don't get it. This is the fifth abduction and now the second DVD. Why'd they wait to call us in?" asked Morgan.

"The last victim's family received this DVD two months ago." said JJ as she started to play the DVD, "Jacksonville P. D. thought maybe they'd get some more clues instead of just raise more questions." said JJ.

"Turn that down, please." said Gideon.

"There seems to be a natural escalation to the murders. It... began as brutal attacks against the victims, and now it's psychological attacks to the families." said Spencer.

"So if the thrill of the kill isn't enough to satisfy his sadistic needs, he needs to spread panic, and he thrives on that." said Hotch.

"Sadistic killers are typically strangers to their victims. It's easier for the offender to torture and kill someone that they don't know." said Spencer.

"Offenders. Man on the tape isn't doing this just for himself. He's playing to an audience, not her family." said Gideon as he took the remote from JJ, "Someone watching... Who can appreciate what he's doing, admire his sadistic skills." said Gideon.

"It is a characteristic of partners to record their crimes so they can relive the fantasy later." said Spencer.

"How can we be sure?" asked Elle.

Hotch noticed the camera moving in the video.

"Right there. The camera moves." said Hotch causing everyone to look at the screen.

"One guy tortures while the other records it. Master and servant." said Gideon.

"Jacksonville P. D.'s been looking for this killer for years. How long is it gonna take them to find a team?" asked Hotch before looking at his teammates and gave them a departure time.

A few minutes later Spencer was sending Clarissa a text message.

GOING TO JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, AND HOPEFULLY I'LL BE HOME IN TIME FOR US TO CELEBRATE MY BIRTHDAY ON SUNDAY. ~ SR

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer stood by his teammates while Morgan had the laptop in front of him.

"Again. That's the third time he's looked back at the camera." said Morgan.

"He's looking back at his partner." said Gideon.

"These two are clearly deranged and acting out their worst sadistic fantasies." said Hotch.

"Folie à deux." said Spencer in French.

"Rare psychological phenomenon in which two or more people share the same psychotic delusion." said Gideon.

"In its literal translation, yes, but it often refers to the bond that exists between two people that bring out the worst in each other." said Spencer.

"Most killing teams have a dominant personality that instigates and plans and a submissive one who's the eager accomplice." said Elle.

"So how do they decide who gets to kill?" asked JJ.

"Well, the dominant one will usually insist on taking the life." said Hotch.

"So what's the psychology behind making these DVDs?" asked JJ.

"It's a shared souvenir, allows the dominant to keep the submissive one motivated, loyal, and aroused." said Hotch.

"It's also about control. Built-in insurance policy for blackmail, just in case somebody gets cold feet." said Morgan.

"It makes you wonder what might have happened if these two people never had met." said Elle.

"Chances are the women would still be alive." said Gideon.

Garcia's face popped up on the laptop.

"Jacksonville P. D. just located Laura Clemensen's body. Some hikers found her under a bridge." said Garcia as she made a crime scene photo pop up.

"They never hide them. They're always easy to find." said Hotch.

"Guys, Laura Clemensen wasn't missing for more than a week. The time spent torturing is getting shorter." said Spencer.

"Has her mother been notified?" asked JJ.

"No. Not yet." said Garcia before signing off.

"We can cover more ground if we split up." said Hotch.

"Morgan and I'll meet local PD at the scene." said Gideon.

"I'll talk to Laura Clemensen's mother, and since she just lost her husband..." said Hotch as he looked at JJ.

"I'll go with you." said Elle.

"I'll start with the victimology, maybe find the reason why these women were targeted." said Spencer.

xxxxxx

Spencer was pinning photos to a bulletin board when Hotch and Elle entered the room.

"Are there new victims?" asked Elle.

"Garcia just sent a list over of all the unsolved rapes and murders in the past three years. There are two that are particularly interesting." said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"They look the type. Anything else?" asked Hotch.

"Well, aside from sharing similar physical traits, they were also posed. The only difference is they were manually strangled, which I think is why   
Jacksonville PD didn't find a connection." said Spencer.

"We find DNA on the first two?" asked Elle.

"That's the thing. It didn't match the recent kills, but check this out. What if the dominant one allowed the submissive one to rape the first two   
victims in order to sort of draw him in, and then once he's hooked, he began keeping the prize all for himself?" asked Spencer.

"You tell Morgan and Gideon about this yet?" asked Hotch.

"They're still at the crime scene." said Spencer.

"We confirmed that Laura Clemensen had good relationships with her family and friends. She got good grades and stayed out of trouble." said Hotch.

"Just like all the other victims." said Spencer.

"Did you guys notice that the package sent to the Clemensen family was only sent to Mary?" asked JJ.

"What about the first DVD?" asked Hotch.

"Right here." said JJ as she got up, "Why are they targeting the mothers?" asked JJ.

"The mother asked God to forgive the people responsible." said Spencer.

"And?" asked Hotch.

"The family that received the first DVD went on TV pleading for their daughter's life. That must have made the unsubs angry." said Spencer.

"So sending the DVD to the mother is a message in itself." said Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"A very clear one. They don't want or need forgiveness." said Spencer before walking away a bit.

xxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was wearing a yellow short sleeved button up shirt to keep cool during one of Florida's hot and humid days.

"We're up to 7 victims now?" asked Elle.

"The humiliating posing of the body can't be a coincidence. It's just too unique." said Spencer.

"The bruising on the necks. Looks to me like the first victim struggled. I'd say the killer probably lost his grip a couple times and really had to fight these women." said Morgan.

"That's why he switched from bare hands to a ligature. It's more efficient, controlled, and it doesn't sacrifice his sadistic need for a slow death."   
said Hotch.

"Because the DNA didn't match, Jacksonville PD just didn't put it together." said Spencer.

"Yeah, and since the weren't looking for 2 offenders..." said Elle as she started to look at the file that Spencer was looking at.

"Signature indicates these women had the same killers. We just need to figure out who the hell they are." said Hotch as he thought about how the heat was making him grumpy.

"Well, Jacksonville PD searched everywhere, even swamps, and still didn't find the victims' vehicles. I got Garcia tracing VINs, but my guess is they dispose of the cars just like they do the women." said Morgan.

"Yeah, but the bodies are easy to find. Why do they go to so much trouble to hide the cars?" asked Hotch.

xxxxx

Spencer stood near Hotch as they gave the profile.

"That's not to say that the submissive partner is in any way pure or innocent in this exchange." said Elle.

"If their criminal desire wasn't present, their partnership wouldn't work." said Gideon.

"The offenders share a common delusion. It's one that you and I would never accept, but it's this bond that justifies their actions." said Morgan.

"So we're looking for two sick minds who complete each other?" asked Detective Portillo.

"It's kind of like the perfect storm. Once these deviant personalities collide, they're deadly and unstoppable." said Spencer.

"Like the DC snipers or the Columbine assassins. Sometimes they've met in childhood. Other times, they can be related, like the Hillside stranglers, Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi, psychopathic cousins who terrorized women in Los Angeles. The dominant partner makes the submissive one feel invincible. That's his reward for doing as he's told. Unfortunately there are countless opportunities for these twisted minds to meet, and once they've pulled off their vicious acts, the two accept this as common behavior and become bored with normal activity. They live only for their new reality. They're obsessed with it, addicted to it. And there's a fierce loyalty between the two. The submissive one, however, is usually less intelligent and easier to catch, and once caught, he is easier to turn." said Hotch.

"Lack of remorse increases their aggressiveness. Sexual sadists will stop when they're caught." said Gideon.

"And the need to psychologically torture the families." said Hotch just as JJ entered the room.

"Sorry to interrupt." said JJ.

A few minutes later Spencer was listening to Beverly Spears talk on TV about her daughter.

"If you've seen my daughter, please, Tiffany's all I have. She went for a run last night, and she never came home. She's my baby." cried Beverly on TV.

"Why weren't we told about this before she went on the news?" asked Gideon.

JJ turned off the TV.

"'Cause we didn't know about it. Tiffany was abducted from Middleberg." said JJ.

"That's nearly an hour away, and it's outside of Jacksonville's jurisdiction. Are you sure these are the same offenders?" asked Detective Portillo.

"She's their type. Grabbed her while jogging, just like their third victim. Middleberg's only an hour from here?" asked Gideon.

"If they see this, it's just a matter of time before they send a DVD." said Hotch.

JJ called a newscaster.

"Jennifer Jareau, FBI. You just aired a press conference with Beverly Spears. I need to speak to her immediately." said JJ as she left the room.

"These guys are impatient. They just dumped Laura Clemensen's body 24 hours ago." said Morgan.

"Which means they're more dangerous than they were yesterday, and Tiffany Spears is running out of time." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting in Detective Portillo's office with Gideon when Gideon looked at Spencer who was drinking a bottle of water.

"How are you feeling about little Diana turning three in less than two months?" asked Gideon quietly.

"I'm sad since she's starting preschool next year." said Spencer softly

"So should I expect any news about Diana becoming a big sister soon?" asked Gideon.

"We want to wait until after Jack turns one." said Spencer as he thought about his nephew.

At that moment Hotch and Elle entered the room.

"Garcia's checking Mike Kroger's whereabouts when the women were abducted. Some of his alibis already check out." said Elle.

"What about Tony Canardo?" asked Spencer.

"Morgan's still outside his house waiting." said Gideon just as an officer came into the room.

"Excuse me. Agent Gideon, there's someone here who wants to talk to you." said the officer.

Gideon got up and left the room causing Spencer to get up and stand in the doorway.

"Mrs. Canardo. What happened?" asked Gideon causing Spencer and Elle to see a beaten up Amber.

"After you left, I got nervous, so I went to find Tony." said Amber.

"Please, sit down." said Gideon as he led Amber to a chair.

"And he... he knew something was up, so..." said Amber.

Gideon looked at an officer.

"You got a Kleenex?" asked Gideon before sitting down, "What'd you tell him?" asked Gideon.

"Well, I told him the truth, that the FBI was asking questions." said Amber.

"So he hit you?" asked Elle as Gideon removed a Kleenex from a box.

"I wasn't completely honest with you about Tony. He fell off the wagon a while ago. I just was afraid to say something. I didn't wanna betray him. He's my husband." said Amber.

"No, it's... it's good that you're here with us. You're safe here." soothed Elle before looking at Gideon, "I'm gonna go tell Portillo and Hotch that they should meet Morgan." said Elle before walking away.

Spencer noticed the ring on Amber's finger causing him to think back to Hotch and Elle telling him about the ring that Mary Clemensen wanted back.

"Mrs. Canardo, can I ask you a question?" asked Spencer gently.

Amber looked at Spencer.

"Yes." said Amber.

"Is that ring new?" asked Spencer.

"Tony won some money playing poker. He bought it as a gift." said Amber before looking at Spencer again, "Why?" asked Amber.

"Looks a lot like Laura Clemensen's." said Spencer.

Amber shuddered as she quickly removed the ring and placed it onto the table.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer watched live feed of Tony handcuffed to a table.

"If we're gonna get anything out of Tony, we gotta praise him. He's the dominant. He thinks he deserves it." said Hotch.

"Confirm instead of undermine his expectations. Make him think he's smarter than us because he saw it coming." said Morgan.

"We don't have much time." said Gideon.

Hotch left the room to join Tony causing Spencer to pay attention to the live feed of Tony holding up his handcuffed hands.

"I know. I'm sorry. That's just standard procedure. Special Agent Aaron Hotchner. I'm supervising this task force. I just wanna say that this case, your case, is... Remarkable. You've got people at the BAU shaking their heads." said Hotch on the TV.

Elle looked at Spencer who nodded.

"What about you? You shaking your head?" asked Tony.

"Absolutely. Seven victims in three years. You've got every woman in Jacksonville living in fear. That's pretty much what you wanted, isn't it?" asked Hotch.

"I'm sure whoever's responsible for it is enjoying it." said Tony.

"The BAU would like to study you, interview you, with your permission, of course." said Hotch.

"Show me what's in the boxes." said Tony.

Hotch grabbed a file.

"This. They're all full. It's all you. We can... We can open all the boxes if you want." said Hotch.

"No. I wanna see my lawyer." said Tony.

"Well, Tony sure lawyered up quick." said Morgan.

"He's playing games." said Gideon.

"Florida state wants to make a deal if you tell us where Tiffany Spears is." said Hotch.

"This guy's been to jail before. He knows how to keep his mouth shut." said Gideon.

"What do you think, I'm stupid?" asked Tony.

"Far from it." said Hotch before getting up and left the room.

Morgan saw Tony lay his eyes on the crime scene photos.

"Look at that. Notice how he's focused on those two pictures." said Morgan.

"We can't forensically tie him to those victims, but we're certain that he posed those bodies after death." said Spencer just as Hotch entered the room.

"Well, that's certainly not working. I'm not getting anywhere with him." said Hotch.

"Is the wife still here?" asked Gideon.

"We wanna put her in a room with him?" asked Elle.

"We need to humanize him. I think she could do that." said Gideon.

"How? He abuses her." said JJ.

"And she takes it. She's subservient to him." said Gideon.

"You think she'd do it?" asked Elle.

"If we wanna find Tiffany Spears, she'll have to." said Gideon before leaving the room.

"It's worth a shot." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was watching the live feed of Amber talking to her husband with Gideon.

"Honey, I need to know where... Where the girl is." said Amber.

"Don't you mean... They need to know? Why should I tell them anything? What have I got to gain? They're pinning us for seven murders, Amber." said Tony.

"I can't believe you and Joey killed them all. Seven! None of this would have happened if Joey had stayed away. We were on our way to better things. Joey messed that up for us. I need you to tell me, Tony. Where would Joey take the girl?" asked Amber.

"I can't." said Tony.

"I'm begging you to end this. Tell me now. Where's the girl?" asked Amber.

"There's this... Storage unit. Joe's dad is the only one who has the key." said Tony.

A few minutes later Spencer looked at his teammates.

"Joe's dad? Isn't he in a wheelchair, though?" asked Spencer.

"Only for the last 2 years. Henry Davin could have raped and killed the first two women three years ago, then brought in Joe and Tony to continue his work." said Gideon.

"Maybe it's the only satisfaction he can get. Now they record it, and he lives it though them." said Hotch.

"So it was a team of three." said Spencer.

"We found Laura Clemensen's hair at Henry's house. It makes sense." said Morgan.

"Let's take a ride." said Hotch.

"Let's go." said Morgan as he followed Hotch.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer watched the video feed.

"He's really playing a tough guy with that officer, huh?" asked Spencer.

"He played the tough guy with Hotch. It wasn't antagonistic. It was defensive." said Gideon.

"False bravado? You think he's wearing a mask?" asked Spencer.

"Let me see Amber's tape." said Gideon.

Spencer turned on Amber's tape and after a few seconds of watching Gideon noticed something.

"Why isn't she scared?" asked Gideon.

"She looks scared to me." said Spencer.

"No. Look. She initiated eye contact, right there. If she were afraid, she'd look anywhere but his face." said Gideon.

Spencer watched the footage.

"She's looking at the victims, and she doesn't really... She doesn't seem that repulsed. She actually... Looks surprisingly calm." said Spencer.

"He's studying her. He's waiting for her lead." said Gideon.

"Where did Joey take the girl?" asked Amber.

"She just gave him an order." said Spencer.

"He's protecting her. He's giving her an out." said Gideon before running out of the room causing Spencer to charge after him.

"Where is she? Where's the girl?! Where is she?!" asked a demanding Gideon as he looked at an officer, "Told you to watch her." said Gideon.

A few minutes later Morgan and Hotch were on the phone.

"We analyzed what we recorded of Tony and Amber. Turns out she's the dominant one." said Gideon.

"Garcia finally isolated the soundtrack on that DVD. Turns out it was Amber giving the orders." said Spencer.

"That means she's the one doing the killing. Where is Amber now?" asked Hotch.

"She told the cop she was going out for a smoke and walked out the back door." answered Spencer.

"We're running out of time. You've gotta find out where they're holding Tiffany." said Hotch.

"Yeah, I'll change the approach." said Gideon as he left the room.

Spencer followed Gideon only to be stopped by JJ.

"You're gonna wanna look at this." said JJ.

Spencer quickly read the report.

"Joey Davin's DNA didn't match the first 2 victims. That means neither could Henry's." said Spencer.

"So who raped the first two girls?" asked Elle.

Gideon quickly walked away.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer was watching Gideon's new approach when his work cellphone rang.

"Reid here." answered Spencer.

"No time for pleasantries. I was able to unseal a file regarding Amber Canardo." said Garcia while Spencer put his phone on speaker for Elle.

"What does it say?" asked Spencer.

"When Amber was 15, she walked into a Tallahassee hospital, raped and beaten something awful. Doctors deduced she was being abused by her father and her brother. Eventually they convinced her to go to the police. But when she did, mom showed up and told them that Amber was lying." said Garcia.

"Wow. She obviously did nothing to protect Amber from the abuse. She feels betrayed by her mother and now receives extreme sadistic pleasure in watching the same thing that happened to her. Strange. In this case the abused actually became the abuser." said Spencer.

"That doesn't happen a lot?" asked Garcia.

"1 in 8." said Spencer.

"We found the one." said Garcia before hanging up.

Spencer hung up his phone while sighing as he continued to watch the live interview before grabbing the nearby walkie talkie.

"Gideon, Garcia found out that Amber was abused by her brother and her father. They'd take her to the woods." said Spencer softly.

xxxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was listening to Detective Portillo on the walkie talkie.

"We got Amber. Tiffany Spears is alive." said Detective Portillo causing sighs in relief to happen.

xxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer was fixing himself a cup of tea as he thought about the excitement of being home in a few hours.

"All right. Thank you." said JJ before hanging up, "Jacksonville P. D. found the remains of a body on the grounds of the cabin. They think it's Amber Canardo's old boyfriend," said JJ.

"And 10 will get you 20 that DNA will match the first 2 victims." said Gideon.

Spencer walked away from the small kitchen area with a cup of tea so he could get some sleep when he got home.

"At least the families will finally have closure." said Spencer.

"And we did save Tiffany Spears." said Morgan before looking at Spencer, "Excited about your 25th birthday on Monday?" asked Morgan.

"Part of me is excited, but I'm also sad." said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Morgan.

"My 25th birthday means that this birthday marks 20 years since I got to celebrate my birthday with my parents while this birthday marks six years since I've celebrated my birthday with aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon." said Spencer.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"I didn't get to celebrate 23 birthdays with my father, so I know what your saying." said Morgan.

xxxxxxx

Three hours later Spencer quietly entered Diana's bedroom and he smiled at his sleeping daughter before giving Diana a gentle kiss on the forehead.

"Daddy loves you so much, baby girl." said Spencer as he stroked his daughter's hair before leaving the bedroom.

Five minutes later Spencer was in the master bathroom stripping himself so he could take a shower when the bathroom door opened causing Spencer to smile at his wife.

"Room for one more?" asked Clarissa as she licked her lips at the sight of her naked husband.

Spencer looked at his wife and thought about that after spending over five years and 10 months with Clarissa that she looks more beautiful than never.

"There's always room for you, but I really want to wash away the sweat from Florida." said Spencer.

"Aaron did send me a text grumbling about the humidity." smiled Clarissa as she closed the bathroom door and started to remove her pajama shorts and her husband's old MIT t-shirt.

A minute later Spencer and Clarissa were in the shower together.


	38. Spencer Turns 25 & Psychodrama

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts 12 hours after the last chapter.
> 
> Clarissa decided to celebrate Spencer's birthday a day early since they both have work on Spencer's birthday while knowing that there's a possibility that Spencer will do something with his team on the day of his birthday.

Clarissa looked at her husband as they changed out of their church clothing.

"What should we do this afternoon before we head over to Aaron's for your early birthday dinner?" asked Clarissa as she watched her husband change into jeans and a polo shirt.

"Go hiking at Rock Creek Park." said Spencer.

"We should definitely pack a picnic." said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were getting into clothing that were suitable to wear on a hike before they packed a picnic basket while Diana finished up her nap.

xxxxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer was giving Diana a piggy back ride as he and Clarissa walked on the trails at Rock Creek Park.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that evening Spencer was blushing while Clarissa, Hotch, Haley, little Diana, and Lucy sang Happy Birthday to Spencer, and after everyone was done singing, Spencer blew out the two candles that spelled 25 before Diana who was on her daddy's lap looked up at her daddy.

"Can we please eat cake now?" asked Diana as she eyed the cake that she watched her mommy, auntie Haley, and Lucy make together while her daddy and uncle Aaron played with her cousin.

"Sure we can, baby girl." said Spencer.

"I no baby. I big girl. said Diana.

Spencer's face saddened a bit before looking at his little girl.

"No matter how big you get, you'll always be my baby girl." said Spencer before looking at Haley, "Is Jack going to get a taste of birthday cake before his upcoming first birthday?" asked Spencer.

Haley looked at her baby boy who was sitting in his high chair eying the birthday cake.

"I think I will," said Haley.

A few minutes later the Reids, Hotchners, and Lucy were all eating birthday cake.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Three hours later Spencer stepped out of the master bathroom with a towel wrapped loosely around his waist, and as soon as his glasses unfogged he groaned at the sight of his wife wearing nurse themed lingerie while holding a plate that held a piece of leftover birthday cake.

"How about I feed you some cake in bed?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer nodded while he felt his body react to the lingerie that Clarissa was wearing, and a minute later Spencer was sitting up in bed with Clarissa straddling him as Clarissa fed him birthday cake while knowing what would happen next.

xxxxxxxxxxx

The next day Clarissa looked at her two and a half year old daughter as she held a tray that consisted of enough breakfast for her, Spencer, and little Diana.

"Now go wake up daddy." said a whispering Clarissa.

"OK, mommy." said Diana.

30 seconds later Spencer woke up to Diana on top of him.

"Wake up, daddy." said Diana.

A few seconds later Spencer had his glasses on and he looked at his smiling wife.

"Happy birthday, honey." said Clarissa as she gave her husband a kiss on the lips.

"Thanks." said Spencer as he playfully grabbed his daughter.

"We should eat since we both have to get ready for work." said Clarissa.

A few minutes later the family of three were eating breakfast together before Spencer and Clarissa got ready for work.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that evening, Spencer entered the living room and he smiled when he saw Clarissa and Diana cuddling on the couch together watching cartoons together.

"There's my two favorite girls." said Spencer.

"Daddy!" exclaimed Diana as she climbed off the couch and ran to her daddy.

"I missed you today." said Spencer as he gave his daughter a big hug and a kiss.

"I miss you too." said Diana.

"What about me?" asked Clarissa as she made her way to her husband.

"I missed you too." said Spencer as he gave his wife a kiss.

"How was your birthday dinner with your team?" asked Clarissa as she thought about Spencer occasionally going out to eat with his teammates so he's not always isolating himself from his teammates.

"It went well." said Spencer as he set down his daughter so he could reach into his messenger bag and pulled out a few books and gift cards, "These are gifts that I received from my teammates today." said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at the gifts.

"Nice." said Clarissa.

Diana looked up at her daddy.

"Sweep wit you and mommy?" asked Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa looked at each other.

"Sure you can, sweetie." said Clarissa before looking at the clock and saw that it was 8 PM, "Its bath time." said Clarissa.

Diana looked at her daddy.

"You give me bath." said Diana.

"I can, baby girl." said Spencer as he swooped up his little girl.

xxxxxxxxx

An hour later Diana was fast asleep in bed between her parents who also decided that an early bedtime were calling their names.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Two days later Spencer was in the round table room with his teammates.

"Over the past two months, the L. A. Field office has been tracking a series of 4 bank robberies in the L. A. Metro area. It's one individual wearing a black ski mask. He's highly skilled. It's his unique M. O. That put him squarely in our court. This happened two days ago." said JJ as she played the security camera footage that she was sent.

"He's making them undress?" asked Hotch.

"He takes their clothes and locks them in the vault, then he goes for the cash." said JJ.

"Smart. Nobody's going to run after him butt naked." joked Morgan.

"It's also a psychological advantage. Make the captives feel exposed, intimidated, and much less likely to fight back." said Spencer.

"That, and the Mac-10 he's waving around. Boy's got a lot of firepower." said Morgan.

"But why is this case for us?" asked Elle.

"Because in the last robbery, two things changed. One, he beat the security guard nearly senseless, and two, after he made everyone undress, he forced two pairs of victims together at gunpoint, then he made them simulate sex with each other." said JJ as she showed the faces of the four victims.

"Woah." said Elle.

"It's remarkable. By utilizing a practical MO the unsub has stumbled on to a psychological signature. It's fascinating." said Spencer.

"He's a sex offender now." said Elle.

"Fueled by violent rage. Only our unsub doesn't know it yet. If he did, he wouldn't be robbing banks anymore." said Gideon.

"So, he's a violent sex offender in denial." said JJ.

"And a sexual predator who's just escalated his crimes." said Hotch.

"He's a serial killer in the making." said Gideon.

After Hotch gave everyone a departure time, he looked at his teammates.

"Can everyone except Reid please leave this room?" asked Hotch.

Morgan, JJ, Elle, and Gideon left the room and a minute later Hotch looked at Spencer who was trying to keep his emotions in check.

"Are you sure your able to handle this case despite what happened to you nearly 13 years ago?" asked Hotch.

"If your talking about the goal post incident that caused a bunch of my classmates to get expelled and registered as sex offenders, I can handle this case since I had a lot of therapy after that incident." said Spencer.

"I know, but If you need to step back from this case, please let me know." said Hotch.

"I promise." said Spencer.

A minute later Spencer was at his desk sending Clarissa a text message.

I'M GOING TO LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA. I LOVE YOU. ~ SR

A few seconds later Spencer felt someone ruffling his hair causing him to look up at Haley who had a slight smirk on her face.

"Really, Mrs. Hotchner?" asked Spencer as he smoothed out his hair.

"I couldn't help it, Spencer." said Haley before looking serious at the young man who married her sister-in-law, "Is Aaron in his office?" asked Haley.

"He is." said Spencer as his phone vibrated causing him to see a text from Clarissa.

YOU AND AARON BETTER STAY SAFE. LOVE YOU TOO. ~ CR

"Hopefully I'll see you later, Spencer." said Haley before heading towards the stairs that led to her husband's office.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Elle grabbed the newspaper article that she had printed.

""Stripping bandit." That's terrible. That makes it sound like the bandit's doing the stripping." said Elle as she sat down next to Hotch.

"What would you call him?" asked Spencer.

"Pervert." said JJ.

"Scumbag." said Elle.

"I'd call him an ass." said Morgan.

Hotch looked at Morgan.

"Hey, focus, please. We have the details of the 4 bank robberies to learn before we get to Los Angeles." said Hotch.

"At this point is he more a bank robber or a sex offender?" asked Spencer.

"Seriously. What's he going to do next, rob a bank or rape somebody?" asked Morgan.

"I'd say we need to know more about how he robs the banks and who he chooses to victimize." said Elle.

"Why these banks and why these victims?" asked Hotch.

"Pairing these specific people together is a fantasy. If we can figure out the nature of that fantasy, we may be able to predict his targets." said Gideon.

"Hmm." said Elle before looking at her teammates, "In the last robbery I don't see any photos of what he made the victims actually do." said Elle.

"There is a problem with this surveillance system. We're working on it." said JJ.

"We should hit the ground running. How should we break it down?" asked Hotch.

"There's got to be a pattern to the banks. We should run a geographical profile." said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother in law.

"That's yours." said Hotch.

"And for the sexual aspects, we need to look at the specific victimology." said Elle.

Hotch looked at Elle and thought about how she has been distant since Spencer told him that she barely comes over for dinner anymore to interact with Diana.

"You and I can go with the victim reports, see whatever surveillance footage they've got." said Hotch.

"Leaves the unsub himself. We'll need his perspective." said Gideon as he looked at Morgan.

"Crime scene." said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer looked at JJ who asked him to show her how to do a geographical profile as he drew a square on the clear board that contained a built in map of LA.

"Basically, we assume the suspects will hunt close to where they live, but far enough to remain anonymous. Each one of these data points represents a bank that he hit, and this area where the lines intersect give us the best estimate of the unsub's home." said Spencer as he finished the geographical profile.

"So, how many does that narrow it down to?" asked JJ.

Spencer stared at the map as he made a calculation.

"Couple hundred thousand." said Spencer.

"Oh." said JJ.

xxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was standing next to Agent Wallace as he watched the security camera footage that Agent Wallace was showing them.

"That's Henderson, the bank manager. Said he was so flustered after what he had been through, that when he was gathering the tapes for us, he hit the wrong buttons and erased part of them." said Agent Wallace.

"You believe him?" asked Hotch.

"No. I told him I thought he was embarrassed about the tapes getting out and he erased them on purpose. He denied it." said Agent Wallace.

"You rule out the possibility he was in on it?" asked Hotch.

"Why would he be involved in a robbery when he had to go through something like that?" asked Agent Wallace.

"Maybe he didn't know what was gonna happen. Maybe he was betrayed by the unsub." said Elle.

"Or perhaps he was coerced. There's been many documented cases of robbers forcing bank managers to assist them with their crimes." said   
Spencer.

"None of that is consistent with the MO's of the other robberies." said Agent Wallace.

"Maybe there's a reason this last one was different from the others." said Morgan.

Detective Murad came over.

"A call from Quantico on one." said Detective Murad.

"Thanks." said Hotch before answering the phone, "Garcia, it's Hotch." said Hotch.

"Are we ready for something completely weird?" asked Garcia through the phone.

"How weird are we talking, Garcia?" asked Morgan.

"The security footage Hotch gave me, I ran it through my software 3 times..." said Garcia.

"And?" asked Hotch.

"And there are weird height issues. I. e., the unsub in the first three robberies is 6 foot 1 and the unsub in the last robbery, he's 5'10"." said Garcia.

"So what? In the last robbery we're dealing with a different unsub?" asked Morgan.

"An unsub who is somehow able to erase tapes that show exactly what happened at that bank." said Hotch.

"An unsub who may have possibly had inside help." said Spencer.

"I think it's time we sit down with the bank manager." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day Spencer was sitting at the table they were given to use when the land-line rang causing Morgan to answer the phone.

"Yeah?" asked Morgan.

"Pals, don't be ticked, but I think I may have missed the sort of glaringly obvious here. How would you make yourself taller without being a different person entirely or having some sort of weird Chinese surgery?" asked Garcia.

"Heels." said Elle.

"Right, sunshine, but would have seen heels, unless the unsub had them hidden inside his shoe. The point is, lifts." said Garcia.

"Lifts." said Morgan.

"Lifts, all hidden up inside his boot. With a little fancy footwork, pun emphatically intended, Garcia here managed to dig him out." said Garcia.

"Thanks, girl." said Morgan before hanging up, "He's trying to throw us off, hide his real height." said Morgan.

"But why would he take the lifts out just for the last robbery?" asked Elle.

"Maybe he's getting careless." said Hotch.

"Which means he's also getting more dangerous." said Spencer.

"At least we know we're only dealing with one unsub." said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"Based on the knowledge that spending a significant time in prison stunts emotional growth while increasing professional skills, we can estimate this unsub went to jail between the ages of 18 and 22 and spent between five and ten years inside." said Hotch.

"That puts him at the approximate age between 23 and 35." said Elle.

"This guy's much more than just a bank robber though. What started out as a practical MO, stripping his hostages, triggered a deep psycho-  
sexual response." said Hotch.

"In other words, when he found himself in front of a bunch of naked people under his control, he snapped, then he decided to manipulate them." said Morgan.

"And better, or just getting worse, he's attacking banks earlier in the day when more and more people are present." said Elle.

"This sounds like he's sacrificing the safety of having just a few hostages to contain, for the satisfaction of having more subjects to control." said Morgan.

"He'll be less interested in money and more interested in sadistically manipulating his captives." said Spencer.

"In all likelihood, he'll be high on drugs." said Morgan.

"It would be wrong, however, to write this guy off as crazy. Bank robbing is an ambitious crime and it takes time and planning to pull it off." said Hotch.

"What makes this unsub unique is his fractured psyche. On the one hand, a cold, organized bank robber. On the other, a disorganized sexual   
sadist full of bottled up rage. The two parts of his psyche have just begun to bleed together, now when they finally converge, we're talking about a criminal with the skills and efficiency of a master bank robber and the rage of a suicide bomber. He will explode." finished Gideon.

A few seconds later Agent Wallace approached them.

"Sir, bank robbery in progress. Corner of Washington and Sepulveda. Kid in the back room called 911 on his cell. Said the suspect's started making people undress." said Agent Wallace.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was going through files with Elle and JJ.

"So, you're sure this is it?" asked Elle.

"Yeah. Based on all the parameters, age, armed robbery charge, time spent in prison, approximate location of home address based on geographical profile. It's about 360 names." said JJ.

"These guys aren't sweethearts, but there's only a handful with sex crimes on their rap sheets and none are sexual sadists." said Elle.

"That's not surprising. Bank robbers and gun nuts aren't typically s*x offenders. That's what makes this unsub unique." said Spencer.

"What about a pimp? Roland Lynch, 32 years old." said JJ.

Spencer looked at JJ.

"Pimps are characteristically sociopathic and, in many cases, sadistic." said Spencer.

"Helps control their employees." said Elle.

"Well, this one started out robbing convenience stores before working his way into pimping." said JJ.

"That's unusual. Pimps typically violate by proxy, forcing others to do the work for them, whereas, bank robbers usually operate in pairs or alone." said Spencer.

"So, he's sexually sadistic and has experience with armed robbery." said Elle.

"Along with fitting all other parameters of the profile." said Spencer.

"All right. I'll get in touch with his parole officer." said JJ as she got up and walked away.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer stood with his arms crossed as he watched surveillance footage.

"According to witnesses, he came in and fired into ceiling. He separated all the kids from their parents. Then?" asked Detective Murad.

"He's forcing the sons to hit their mothers." said Spencer softly.

"He started to. When he tried to get the first one to hit his mother harder, he refused, and when he refused..." said Detective Murad as he couldn't explain what happened next.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law with a worried look on his face.

"It doesn't make sense. They're children." said Hotch as he thought about his nearly one-year-old son and his two and a half year old niece.

"He's playing out a fantasy." said Gideon.

"Yeah, but it's his fantasy and someone else's children." said Hotch.

"They're surrogates of some kind." said Morgan.

"No. You don't do this to someone else's kids to get off. You just don't do it." said Hotch before walking away causing Gideon to follow him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

After Hotch told everyone about the conversation he had with Darren, Morgan was the first to speak up.

"He apologized." said Morgan.

"Sadists don't apologize. They gloat, maybe, but they don't apologize." said Elle while Spencer took a sip of his coffee.

"Our guy's not a sadist. We got that part of the profile wrong." said Gideon.

"He doesn't derive any sadistic pleasure from these fantasies, they're more like a compulsion." said Elle.

"Compulsion that's literally life or death? I mean, if anyone interferes, he kills them. It's like he's compelled to direct these fantasies using these people as actors." said Spencer.

"Actors on a stage, it's a play." said Morgan.

Gideon and Elle both looked at Spencer.

"It's a psychodrama." said Spencer.

"What's that?" asked JJ.

"It's a form of psychotherapy whereby actors serve as surrogates for actual people in the patient's life." said Spencer.

"Incorporates many elements of theatre, including an audience." said Gideon.

"There's a very famous pilot program at the San Luis Obispo county jail in the mid-nineties." said Spencer.

"Isn't that just a couple hours away from here?" asked JJ.

"Let's go over the suspect list and see how many of them did time in San Luis Obispo." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxx

"The answer is 4." said Garcia.

"Come on. Tell me you narrowed it down a little more than that." said Morgan.

"Only two live in state, but only one lives in LA." said Garcia.

"Ha, that a girl." said Morgan.

"Caleb Dale Sheppard, last known address 236 Harbor Lane, Inglewood." said Garcia.

"Thanks, mama." said Morgan before hanging up.

"That's only 1.6 miles from the last restaurant that he hit." said Spencer before getting looks from his teammates, "I've been studying a lot of LA maps." said Spencer.

"If he's been attacking that close to home, he's given up any interest in protecting his identity." said Hotch.

"We need to all go down there and split up, half to his address, half patrol in the area around the restaurant in case he's on the hunt." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer looked at Mrs. Sheppard.

"Mrs. Sheppard, do you know where your son is?" asked Spencer.

"Dale doesn't live here anymore." said Mrs. Sheppard.

"Where is he, Mrs. Sheppard?" asked Hotch.

"He's a grown man." said Mrs. Sheppard.

"You have any idea how much trouble your son could be in?" asked Gideon.

"Dale? He's a good boy. Lost his way a bit, that's all." said Mrs. Sheppard.

"Well, that's one way to look at 12 years in and out of prison." said Hotch.

Mrs. Sheppard looked at Hotch.

"You've never made a mistake?" asked Mrs. Sheppard.

"Your son spent time in a juvenile home?" asked Gideon.

"He was out of control, even attacked his own sister once, but his father died. It wasn't his fault." said Mrs. Sheppard.

"Was it yours?" asked Gideon.

"What?" asked Mrs. Sheppard.

"Was it your fault?" repeated Gideon.

Spencer quickly noticed a bottle of pills causing him to realize why Mrs. Sheppard was acting the way she is causing him to rattle a bottle of pills to gain Mrs. Sheppard's attention.

"How many of these did you take today, Mrs. Sheppard?" asked Spencer.

"I had... Back problems my whole life." said Mrs. Sheppard.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer approached Hotch and Gideon after he got off the phone with Garcia.

"That was Garcia. Apparently Sheppard's sister died 12 years ago, suicide." said Spencer.

"Lady sure did a number on her kids." said Gideon.

"She's probably lonely after the husband died and on painkillers, not in her right mind, and nobody there to turn to but Sheppard and his sister." said Hotch.

"So, now he's symbolically punishing his mother?" asked Spencer.

"He's playing out a fantasy. Sons gaining total control over their mothers." said Gideon just as Detective Murad came over with a matchbook.

"We got something." said Detective Murad.

Hotch took what the detective found.

""Dale daybreak hotel."" said Hotch causing all three men to hurry to an SUV.

xxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting in the backseat of a car while Hotch drove around the area.

"If he's on foot, he must still be in the neighborhood. How do we find him?" asked Spencer before he grabbed the map he brought with him.

"At this point, he'll probably hit the first thing that catches his attention." said Hotch.

Gideon thought that he should help the two family men of the team out.

"Families." said Gideon.

"A public place. If the trend continues, he'll look for a bigger audience." said Hotch.

"Public place with families." said Gideon.

"Guys, there's a public park not far from here." said Spencer.

"Where?" asked Hotch as he thought about the times that he and Spencer would take Jack and Diana to the park when Haley and Clarissa had a girls day out.

".6 miles from where we are now. .9 miles from the hotel where the unsub's staying, which we'll actually pass if we take a right at the next light." said Spencer.

Hotch turned on the sirens so he could drive faster to the park, and a few minutes later they approached Detective Murad.

"There's no sign of him." said Detective Murad.

"We've got cruisers everywhere. Where could he be?" asked Hotch.

Spencer looked around his surroundings.

"There's only a few blocks between here and his hotel." said Spencer.

"He's got to be really close." said Gideon.

A minute later they were heading into a backyard where another birthday party was happening causing Spencer's heart to drop at the sight of a little boy who was being held at knife point, pointing a gun at his mother.

"Put it down." said Gideon.

"Drop the knife." ordered Hotch.

Caleb shook his head.

"It won't fix you, Sheppard. It doesn't matter what you make them do, how many people are watching you." said Gideon.

A few seconds later Hotch shot Caleb in the shoulder, and as soon as the mother grabbed her little boy, Spencer quickly grabbed the gun and switched the safety on before removing the bullets.

"Oh, my God. Got him. It's okay, baby." said the mother.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

A couple of hours later a covered up Spencer was curled up on couch on the jet while being unaware that Hotch and Gideon were both looking at him.

"Isn't it amazing that we got to watch him grow up for nearly six years?" asked a whispering Hotch as he thought back to meeting 19-year-old Spencer Reid when Clarissa brought a grieving Spencer along for lunch and the interactions they had before Spencer was placed on the same team as him.

"He was still in college for a couple of those years." whispered Gideon.

Hotch nodded in agreement.

"When he told me that he was interested in this profession, I was worried about how he would cope with this job after losing so much at a young age." whispered Hotch before smiling a bit, "But I'm glad that he and my sister met when they did." whispered Hotch.

"Spencer told me that they are going to try for another baby soon since they decided to wait until after his 25th birthday." whispered Gideon.

Hotch smiled at the thought of getting another niece or a nephew to spoil since Clarissa told him that she opted for an IUD after Diana was born since they wanted wait a couple of years to have their second child due to being 22-years-old when Diana was born.

"I just hope that this job never causes them martial problems." whispered Hotch as he thought about how his sister and Spencer's fast approaching anniversary as he watched his youngest agent sleep.

xxxxxxx

Three hours later Spencer was carrying a sleeping Diana into the master bedroom just as Clarissa exited the master bathroom.

"Why do you have Diana?" asked a whispering Clarissa.

"With the case I just worked, I need her close." said Spencer as he tucked his little girl into bed.

"She can sleep with us tonight, but I have plans for you tomorrow night." said Clarissa as she crawled under the covers on her side of the bed.

Spencer nodded as he crawled under the covers on his side of the bed, and a few seconds later he smiled when he felt Diana curl into his side.

"Good night." said Spencer.

"Good night." said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were fast asleep like their daughter.

xxxxxxx

The next evening Spencer smiled at the sight of Diana holding a toddling Jack's hand as they walked together in their backyard.

"Imagine Diana doing that with her little brother and sister when we finally have another child." said Clarissa.

"She would make a good big sister." said Spencer.

Clarissa smiled at her husband.

"I scheduled a doctor appointment to get that IUD removed." smiled Clarissa.

"So your ready for us to become parents again?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa nodded.

"It might take you a couple of weeks to get me pregnant, but I can't wait to watch Diana be a big sister." said Clarissa.

"Me too." said Spencer before he looked at his watch, "Hotch and Haley should be back in an hour." said Spencer.

"Do you think their talk is successful?" asked Clarissa as she thought about how upset her sister-in-law was when her brother didn't show up at Children's National.

"Hopefully." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxx

Two days later a photographer was taking a picture of Spencer, Clarissa, and little Diana who were all dressed up for their family portrait.


	39. Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: There might be trigger warnings and one swear word in this chapter so please read at your own risk.

Spencer was sitting on the couch reading when Diana came over with a book.

"Please read to me, daddy." said Diana.

Spencer smiled at his little girl and thought about how her language has been improving over the past couple a months while thinking about  
Diana telling him that she's not a baby anymore causing him to give her a new nickname.

"Sure, bumble bee." said Spencer.

Diana passed her daddy her book about bumble bees causing Spencer to lightly chuckle as he thought about Diana's new obsession over bumble bees and honeybees, and a few seconds later Spencer was reading to his little girl.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Two days later Spencer looked at Clarissa as they ate dinner.

"So when is your doctor appointment?" asked Spencer.

"Tomorrow morning at 8." said Clarissa.

Diana looked at her mommy.

"Are you sick, mommy?" asked Diana.

"Mommy's not sick sweet pea, but I'm going to the doctor for a check up." said Clarissa.

"Why?" asked Diana.

"What do you think about daddy and I giving you your own little brother or sister like Jack to play with?" asked Clarissa.

"I want a sister." said Diana.

Spencer looked at his daughter while knowing that he had to explain pregnancy in an age appropriate manner.

"When mommy had you in her tummy, we knew that there was a 50% chance that you could be a boy or a girl." said Spencer before smiling a bit, "And when mommy told me that you were going to be a girl, I was so happy." said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her daughter who was sporting French braids that her daddy pulled her hair into before breakfast.

"Ready to sleep over at Nana Alex's house tonight?" asked Clarissa.

Diana nodded before Spencer looked at Lucy.

"With Clarissa working third shift tonight and Diana sleeping over at my godmother's, I'm going to head to the office and work on more consults." said Spencer.

"OK." said Lucy.

xxxxxxxxx

15 minutes later Clarissa was driving to Children's National while Spencer drove little Diana to his godmother's.

xxxxxxxxxxx

An hour and a half later Elle looked up from her desk and noticed Spencer sitting down at his desk.

"I thought that you went home for the night." said Elle.

Spencer grabbed a piece of paper and wrote on it, and after he wrote his note he passed it to Elle.

CLARISSA'S WORKING THIRD SHIFT TONIGHT AND DIANA'S HAVING HER MONTHLY SLEEPOVER AT MY GODMOTHER'S HOUSE. SO INSTEAD OF STAYING IN AN EMPTY HOUSE FOR THE NIGHT, I DECIDED TO CATCH UP ON FILES HERE.

"OK." said Elle as she passed the note back to Spencer who crumpled it up and placed it into his pocket.

"Have you eaten dinner yet?" asked Spencer as he looked at Elle and thought about how she lost a bit of weight.

"I went down to the cafeteria." said Elle.

"I brought enough leftovers for the both of us." said Spencer.

"Thanks." said Elle.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer was fixing himself some coffee when Gideon came into the break room area.

"Doesn't anybody ever go home?" asked Gideon.

"You're here." said Elle.

"Exactly." said Gideon as he opened up the fridge, "Trust me, you don't want to model your social life around mine." said Gideon as he grabbed a bottle of water.

JJ entered the break area.

"If it makes you feel any better, Hotch and Morgan took off." said JJ.

Spencer who was now eating the leftovers from home stopped chewing.

"Hotch is married, Morgan's, you know, Morgan." said Spencer.

Elle bit her tongue knowing that Clarissa had third shift and Diana was sleeping over at her adopted grandmother's house while Gideon looked at the file that JJ handed him.

"What's this?" asked Gideon.

"Police in Dayton, Ohio need our help with a serial rapist." said JJ.

"What's the story?" asked Elle.

"Three months ago he raped five students at a small bible college. Roughly, an attack a week, then suddenly nothing, until nine days ago when he suddenly reappeared with a whole new victim pattern. Both those women are in their 30s. They were raped about five days apart." said JJ as she showed pictures.

"Where have the new attacks taken place?" asked Gideon.

"Opposite ends of the city. He was waiting for them when they got home." said JJ.

Both Spencer and JJ looked at Elle with concerned looks on their faces.

"How do we know it's the same guy?" asked Elle.

"He leaves voice mails for them." said JJ.

"Freezing them with fear before they even see him." said Spencer as he thought about how his home address and land line number isn't in the phone book due to him and Clarissa both making enemies

"They don't recognize the voice?" asked Gideon.

"No. Cops even have DNA, but it's just not in the system." said JJ.

"Why would someone attacking college students suddenly widen his net?" asked Gideon.

"Serial rapists hardly ever change victimology once it's established. It's based on a fantasy that's very specific." said Spencer.

"Maybe he's telling these women that no one's safe." said Elle as she thought about Spencer and Clarissa opening their home to her so she could feel safe and get a good night's sleep.

Spencer looked at Elle.

"Call Hotch and Morgan. Tell them wheels up as soon as we're cleared for takeoff." said Gideon as he put everything back into the file.

"Yes, sir." said JJ.

A few seconds later Spencer was getting up and was sending both Clarissa and Lucy text messages.

GOING TO DAYTON, OHIO. ~ SR

A few minutes later Spencer was in Gideon's office.

"So why didn't you stay home?" asked Gideon.

"Clarissa's working third shift this week while Diana has a sleepover at my godmother's house tonight." said Spencer.

"So you didn't want to be in an empty house?" asked Gideon.

"As much as Merton loves cuddling with me, I just didn't want to sleep in a quiet house." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxx

Hotch looked at his agents who were all doing different activities before making his way over to Gideon.

"You tend to forget, don't you?" asked Hotch.

"What?" asked Gideon.

"All the different moods on the plane. I think the mindset's different when the victims are still alive." said Hotch.

JJ walked out of the galley.

"Okay, we got new information on last night's victim. Alicia Jordan, 38. MO is the same. He was waiting for her to get home, he broke in through the back, subdued her with a gun." said JJ.

"Answering machine?" asked Hotch.

"I left a message about an hour or so before. I can't imagine being taunted like that in my own house, you know?" asked JJ.

"Well, the messages aren't taunts... They're overtures. "I think we're ready", "trust me". He's being sincere." said Gideon.

"Sounds like we're dealing with a power reassurance rapist." said Morgan.

"To him the message are courtships. He's introducing himself to the victims." said Spencer.

"If that's the case, he must have stalked them to know so much about their lives." said Hotch.

"First victims were all college students, all religious. Why change?" asked Gideon.

"Have the police found any connection between the latest victims?" asked Morgan.

"No, nothing yet." said JJ.

"We have to figure out what made him go off script." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer followed Hotch and Elle into the room where officers were taking pictures of Alicia's injuries.

"Excuse us, please. Alicia, we're from the FBI. I realize you've already spoken to the police, but we were hoping that were... A few questions you could answer for us." said Hotch.

Alicia scoffed.

"Every time I think it's over someone else wants to photograph me or touch me or ask me to relive it." said Alicia.

"We will keep this short, I promise." said Elle.

Alicia nodded.

"You said that your attacker knew the things that you thought. What did you mean by that?" asked Hotch.

"He said that we weren't the type of people to just stay inside and read books. And he talked about taking me away to Positano, Italy, and drinking white wine and listening to Al Green." said Alicia.

"Is there any significance to that?" asked Spencer gently.

"My favorite place in the world, the only alcohol I drink, and my favorite singer. I don't understand how he could know any of it." cried Alicia.

Hotch looked at Alicia.

"I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to ask you to listen to this and tell me if the man's attitude sounds the same as when he was in your house." said Hotch before he started the recording.

"I think we're ready to meet. Trust me. I know what you want." said a male voice.

"He sounded different." said Alicia.

"How so?" asked Elle.

"More nervous... Even though he had a gun. He always like he was afraid to talk." cried Alicia.

"Thank you." said Hotch as he pocketed his phone.

"What difference does it matter how he sounded?" asked Alicia.

"On the phone he can rehearse, and in the flesh he can't hide his true self." said Spencer gently.

"I don't understand." said Alicia.

"In his delusion, the man thinks of these attacks as dates." said Spencer.

"I didn't do anything to make him think that." cried Alicia.

"We know you didn't." said Hotch.

Alicia continued to cry.

"This is enough." said Elle as she grabbed a blanket for Alicia.

"Thank you very much." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxx

A couple of hours later Spencer got out of the back seat of one of the SUVs with his suitcases in tow.

"Everybody get some sleep. We've got a big day tomorrow." said Hotch.

Spencer followed Hotch, Morgan, Gideon, and JJ with his suitcases, and after seeing that Elle wasn't with them he decided to see if she needed any help causing him to see a scared Elle.

"What's up?" asked Spencer.

Elle looked at Spencer and noticed the concerned look on his face.

"I think I left my glasses in the car." said Elle.

Spencer headed towards Elle.

"I'll keep you company." said Spencer.

Elle looked behind her shoulder.

"No, it's all right. We got to get to sleep." said Elle as she made her way towards Spencer.

"I'll escort you to your room then." said Spencer.

Spencer and Elle headed into the hotel in silence where they met up with Hotch who handed them their room keys.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer did his infamous shave and a haircut knock on Elle's hotel room door, and a few seconds later Elle opened up the door.

"Hey." said Spencer.

"Hi." said Elle.

"You okay?" asked Spencer.

Elle looked at Spencer.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" asked Elle.

Spencer entered the room.

"No, really, come right in." said Elle before grabbing the small bottles of alcohol.

Spencer glanced at the bottles in Elle's hands.

"You want to check my ID?" asked Elle before she sat down and poured the bottles into a glass.

"I thought maybe... You might want to talk." said Spencer.

Elle scoffed at Spencer.

"Don't go all profiler on me." said Elle.

"Elle, you got shot in your own home, and then you came back to the BAU like nothing even happened, thinking you might want to talk isn't profiling. It's psych 101." said Spencer.

Elle stared at Spencer as she took a drink.

"Please?" begged Spencer as he used his eyes on Elle.

Elle reached for a small bottle and held it up to Spencer.

"I can't." said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Elle.

"Because of how painful my past is, I refuse to drink alcoholic beverages." said Spencer before smirking a bit, "If your going to kick me out for not drinking one bottle, I'll go strait to Hotch and tell him that you've been drinking."

Elle noticed the fierce determination in Spencer's eyes causing her to realize that Spencer never keeps anything from his brother-in-law.

"Then get some water, and what I tell you, you can't tell anyone including Clarissa." said Elle.

Spencer nodded as he got up and grabbed a glass that he filled up with tap water, and as soon as he sat down, Elle looked at him.

"After he shot me. He reached into my wound so he could write on the wall in my blood. I was barely conscious, but I... But I could feel his hand in there... And sometimes it's like I can still feel it." said Elle.

"Elle... He's dead. You're... you're right here. You won." said Spencer.

Elle held up her glass.

"Then here's to winning." said Elle.

Spencer held up his glass of water before taking a drink.

"I'm definitely going to go get some sleep." said Spencer.

"Thanks for listening." said Elle.

"When it came to attending therapy at four, 12, and 19 I learned that talking helps, and Clarissa ended up being one of the best sounding boards for me since we both have a lot in common." said Spencer before looking at Elle, "Last month Clarissa made me promise her that if I ever deal with a traumatic experience in the field, that I'll accept help from the psychologist that I'm assigned to." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was getting into his pajamas before grabbing a picture of Clarissa and Diana and smiled at the picture of his two favorite girls.

"I love you Clarissa. I love you Diana." said Spencer before staring at the picture for a minute before slipping the picture back into his messenger bag.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer passed around case files while Hotch greeted everyone.

"Good morning. Thanks for coming in a little early." said Hotch as he passed out files to officers, "Good morning." said Hotch.

Morgan held up coffee.

"Lousy coffee's up." said Morgan.

"We just want you to hear what the FBI has gathered and get you on the streets." said Detective Callahan.

"So the guy we're looking for is a classic power reassurance rapist." started Hotch.

"This differs from a power assertive rapist who attempts to humiliate and traumatize his victims, as well as the anger retaliatory rapist and the  
sexual sadist, whose attacks are also random and excessively brutal." said Spencer.

"The reason that's important for you to know he's the only kind of rapist who targets a specific victim." said Hotch.

"He fantasizes that he's in a relationship with these women. Now, he doesn't come across them by accident. This is someone with access. He's the cable guy, or the locksmith. He's the guy who reads the gas meter. He can describe exactly what these women wear and how they smell. These details are what feed his fantasy. Now, we need you to look for the overlap between the sets of victims. Delivery men, lawn crew, handymen... Did the school share workers with any of the recent victims?" asked Morgan.

"Because he sees these as relationships, he most likely lives alone." said Spencer.

"And living alone allows him to indulge his delusion that he's in a relationship with these women." said Hotch.

"Because of the discrepancy in the victims' ages. We can only pinpoint his age somewhere between 20 and 40 years old." said Spencer.

"It's possible that he has a profession that he finds emasculating. So look for someone in their lives with a job that deviates from normal gender roles, something like a secretary." said Morgan.

"We're sure that there is some overlap. This guy is a shadow at the edges of each of these women's lives." said Hotch.

"All right, that's square one. Re-canvas and be sure to relay information on shift change." said Detective Callahan.

"Thanks very much." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting in Alicia's house with Gideon and Elle.

"Did he say anything to you about children, family?" asked Gideon.

"No." said Alicia.

"Did he mention anything about suicide? Refer to a personal tragedy, somebody he was maybe in a relationship with?" asked Spencer.

"Why are you asking me this?" asked Alicia.

"One of the victims took her own life when she realized the rapist got her pregnant." said Gideon.

Elle noticed a look on Alicia's face.

"What is it?" asked Elle.

"I'm trying to have a baby." said Alicia.

"For how long?" asked Elle.

"I had an appointment at the clinic to talk about insemination a few days before I was attacked." said Alicia.

"Did anyone else know about that?" asked Spencer.

Alicia shook her head.

"I just decided. I'm 38. I figured I couldn't afford to just wait around for the right man to show up." said Alicia.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer entered the bullpen area of the police station with Gideon and Elle when Morgan met up with them.

"I talked the other 2 victims in their 30s. They had both gone to a fertility clinic within 5 days of their attack." said Morgan.

"Same one each time?" asked Elle.

"Yep." said Morgan.

"Have Garcia run down employment records. They might be looking at someone who works there or who has access to their medical records." said Gideon.

"You got it. What's the significance of the 5 days?" asked Elle.

Spencer glanced at a file.

"The most popular fertility drug is Clomiphene, and the clinic would most likely have a policy not to attempt insemination until the drug regimen is complete." said Spencer.

"So then getting there before they begin the insemination process would guarantee the unsub paternity." said Morgan.

"He's trying to get them pregnant." said Elle.

"He hasn't changed his fantasy, he's merely found a way to perfect it." said Spencer.

"Well, that explains a change in victimology. He's targeted young, ultra-religious girls, who he assumed wouldn't want to have an abortion." said Morgan.

"So when Shelly killed herself, he decided change it up and go after women who were desperate to have a baby." said Elle.

"The unsub knew Shelly Norvell was pregnant, means he's still watching his past victims." said Gideon.

Elle started to have a flashback that she broke out of after Gideon called her name a couple of times.

"Elle, talk to Callahan, tell them we need patrols monitoring everyone on that victim list." said Gideon.

"You got it." said Elle before leaving the room.

"You ever seen anything like this before?" asked Morgan.

"Gary Heidnick in Philadelphia. He kept women in a dungeon prisoner for years with the hopes of impregnating them." said Spencer.

Gideon looked at the board that they placed pictures of the known victims on.

"Heidnick was a sexual sadist. He tortured the women and even ended up eating one of them. This is a power reassurance rapist." said Gideon.

"So in this guy's twisted mind, these are love stories?" asked Morgan.

Spencer nodded as he looked at the board.

"Of course, they are. He's starting families." said Gideon.

Spencer inwardly shuddered as he thought about how he and Clarissa decided that they're ready to start working towards their second child.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You really think this rapist is one of my guys?" asked Craig.

"Well, he's used to being in strangers' homes, always on the phone. That's how he's confident. Thanks to your research, he feels like he knows these women." said Gideon.

"Create a list of any employees you have that worked in a fertility clinic and university questionnaires." said Spencer.

"I give every employee complete access to all of our materials. It helps keep them fresh if they can alternate between types of calls." said Craig.

"So I fill out my intimate personal information and then you just share it with everyone you have working here for minimum wage?" asked Gideon.

"I sense an attitude." said Craig.

"We need copies of every single questionnaire that you got from the clinic. We can get a warrant here in about an hour if you prefer." said Elle.

Craig scoffed.

"If you think about it, all I'm doing is profiling, just like you guys." said Craig.

"Let's not think about it." said Gideon before walking away.

Spencer and Elle exchanged glances as Craig grabbed the files that they needed before handing the box to Spencer.

"All these?" asked Spencer.

"We cover the entire Great Lakes region." said Craig.

"Let's narrow it down. The guy we're looking for is a male, white. Between the ages of 20 and 40, socially awkward and unable to make connections easily." said Spencer.

"I have 250 employees. Most of those are men and every single one of them match the description you just gave me." said Craig.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer was quickly going through the questionnaires with Hotch when Morgan entered the room with Elle.

"I heard you ran into a wall of paper." said Morgan as he watched Spencer quickly go through another file.

"You can lock your doors, but these people still find a way into your home." said Hotch as he sat down, "Elle, it might be worth going back to the victims. It's a long shot, but maybe somebody remembers a first name from a telemarketing call." said Hotch.

"Yeah, the unsub feels a connection with them. So he wouldn't lie or use an alias." said Elle as she got up and left the room.

"We know this guy's DNA is not in the system, but I'll cross-check employment records against sexual misdemeanors, peeping, exposure." said Hotch.

"Good." said Hotch.

"Separated Dayton forms from the rest of the region." said Spencer as he handed one of the papers to JJ.

"So, what do we know from the latest set of victims?" asked Hotch.

"They're all single and all over 35." said JJ.

"Each of them also indicated recently buying books on babies and childbearing." said Spencer as he thought about his own books on babies and childbearing at home.

"So he knows they're committed to having children, which means they're much less likely to abort, even in the cases of rape." said Hotch.

"Get this, each of the victims also checked the yes box when asked if it would be okay to contact them on special deals on pediatric items." said JJ.

"In the unsub's mind they've consented. He thinks he's doing them a service." said Spencer.

"Check those forms for each of those elements. If we can narrow it down to a potential list of victims, we can be waiting for him." instructed Hotch.

Spencer started to go through the forms again, and a minute later Hotch looked at Spencer and JJ.

"Any hits?" asked Hotch.

"Got one." said JJ.

"Reid?" asked Hotch.

"Nothing." said Spencer.

JJ held up the form that she was looking at.

"It's the only one?" asked JJ.

"It's a small city. There can't be very many single women in their late 30s going to the exact same fertility clinic." said Spencer as he watched his brother-in-law take the form from JJ.

"So, we know who he's going after next." said Hotch.

xxxxxx

Two nights later Spencer approached Morgan who was watching Hotch and Gideon interview William Lee.

"He's 28-years-old and has a high school diploma, but he's had 12 jobs in the past 10 years" said Spencer quietly.

"Home life?" asked Morgan.

"He lived with his mother until she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer six months ago." said Spencer.

"One last chance to make mama proud, by starting a family." said Morgan.

Spencer looked through the one way glass towards his mentors.

"How are they playing it?" asked Spencer.

"Deep empathy." said Morgan.

"Smart." said Spencer.

"Yeah. Well, it better work. If they don't get him to confess, we got no reason to hold him." said Morgan.

Spencer and Morgan spent the next couple of minutes watching Hotch and Gideon interview their suspect just as they heard an unfamiliar voice.

"Who's this?" asked Spencer.

Morgan instantly realized that their suspect called a lawyer.

"No, no, no, no. Son of a bitch." said Morgan.

Both men watched the lawyer go into the room and address their suspect while Morgan hit a wall.

"This is over." said Morgan.

A few minutes later Spencer was in the bullpen area of the police station when an angry Elle looked at her teammates.

"You're letting him walk?" asked an engaged Elle.

"Back off, Elle." said Morgan.

"You don't know what he's done." said Elle.

Hotch looked at Elle.

"The only reason he's walking is because you panicked." said Hotch.

"I'm supposed to believe that you've got my back?" yelled Elle.

"What are you saying to me?" asked Hotch.

"The last time you sent me home, Hotch, it got me shot." yelled Elle.

Gideon looked at Elle.

"Walk with me, right now." said Gideon as he grabbed Elle's arm and led her to a room.

A few minutes later Elle stormed out of the room, and Spencer offered her a touch of support only for Elle to move his hand away before looking at Gideon.

xxxxxxxxxx

The next evening Spencer entered his house and he smiled softly when he saw Clarissa and Lucy putting dinner onto the table while Diana was already settled into her booster seat.

"I'm home." said Spencer.

"Welcome home, Spence." said Clarissa as she gave her husband a kiss.

"Its good to be home." said Spencer.

"Hi daddy." said Diana.

Spencer gave Diana a quick kiss.

"I miss you, daddy." said Diana.

Spencer smiled at his little girl.

"I missed you too, bumble bee." said Spencer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm planning that in the next chapter Spencer will be addressing about Elle's actions since he just wanted to spend time with his two favorite girls before Clarissa has to go to work.


	40. The Boogeyman

Spencer and Clarissa were at Party City with Diana, and Clarissa looked at her daughter who was staring wide eyed at the Halloween costumes.

"So what do you want to be for Halloween?" asked Clarissa as she thought about their favorite holiday being a week away.

Diana instantly pointed at a honeybee Halloween costume causing Spencer to form an idea as he looked at his wife.

"What do you say about us dressing up as beekeepers?" asked Spencer.

"I was thinking of the same thing." said Clarissa.

15 minutes later the family of three were leaving Party City with their costumes.

xxxxxxxxxxx

The next night, Spencer sighed sadly as he saw pictures of two young boys.

"Nicholas Faye of Ozona, Texas, was beaten to death roughly 13 hours ago. Blunt force trauma to the head, he's the second young boy in Ozona to die the same death in the last two months. Local hunter found his body in the woods. First victim's name: Robbie Davis." said JJ.

"Are these boys connected somehow?" asked Morgan.

"Ozona's population's roughly 2, 500. Everyone has some kind of connection." said JJ.

"Well if they weren't linked before, they most certainly are now." said Morgan.

"Both murdered by the same offender." said Spencer.

"He's hunting children." said Gideon.

A few minutes later Spencer was packing up to go home while being grateful that he had another night with Clarissa and Diana before heading to Texas.

xxxxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer entered the master bedroom and he smiled softly when he saw Diana already sleeping in their bed.

"She wanted to sleep with us." said Clarissa.

"I'm glad that she wants to sleep with us because of the case I'm leaving for tomorrow morning." said Spencer.

"Children?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer nodded.

"I'm going to take a quick shower before joining you two girls in bed." said Spencer.

"OK." said Clarissa.

15 minutes later Spencer crawled into bed, and Spencer smiled when Diana curled into his side.

"Night, Spence." said Clarissa.

Spencer smirked as he decided to use his nickname for Clarissa.

"Night, Clara." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were fast asleep.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer looked at JJ and Morgan.

"You guys see Elle's cleared?" asked Spencer as he took a seat next to Morgan.

"Self defense." said Morgan.

"So it was good shoot." said Spencer.

"She hit what she was aiming for." said JJ.

"That's not what I meant." said Spencer.

"I know." said JJ.

"If they cleared her how come she's not here with us? Or Hotch?" asked Morgan.

"Focus on the case." ordered Gideon.

"Ozona Police and autopsy report for Nicholas Faye and Robbie Davis." said JJ as she passed out the reports.

"Well the bludgeoning could suggest frustration or rage." said Morgan.

"With no apparent sexual motivation. That's rare when the victims are this young." said Spencer.

"This Unsub seems to be taking pleasure from the kill itself." said Gideon.

"So if it's not sexual, what's the significance of targeting young males?" asked Morgan.

"Most serial killers pray upon specific types to carry out their fantasies of revenge. Bundy killed women that looked like an ex-girlfriend who jolted  
him, Dahmer claimed that schoolyard harassment fed into his fury." said Spencer while JJ took a phone call.

"OK, so then maybe these kids represent someone who victimized the offender." said Morgan.

"Like a young male from his past, maybe a bully... Older brother, someone who abused him." said Spencer just as JJ got off the phone.

"No, that's unlikely. They just found another body. 11 year old girl." said JJ.

Spencer sighed sadly as he thought about his own little girl who was going to be three in less than two months.

"What would the victimology just suddenly change?" asked Spencer as he tried to keep the anger out of his voice.

"Maybe the girl wasn't the target, maybe she just got in the way." said Morgan.

"Or the sex of his victim is insignificant. Pace his killings certainly indicates a velocity of change." said Gideon.

"We can't surveil every kid in Ozona, how we just keep them all safe?" asked JJ.

"Enforce a curfew?" asked Spencer as he thought about the curfew he had growing up.

"Children shouldn't have to worry about something like that." said Morgan.

"Tell me about it. The woods were the only thing I was afraid of when I was a kid." said JJ.

"Seriously? I thought you grew up in a small town?" asked Morgan.

"Yeah, surrounded by woods!" laughed JJ.

"Yeah, bummer for you!" teased Morgan.

"Yeah." said JJ.

"The only thing I was afraid of was the dark." said Morgan.

"Some of us still are..." muttered Spencer.

"When we land, Morgan and Reid, go to the new crime scene. The little girl. I'll look at the scene where Nicholas Faye was found." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer sighed sadly when he saw the gurney that contained the bagged up body of the little girl while Deputy Mack talked.

"This is just a quarter mile from where the two boys were killed. Bludgeoned to death the same way." said Deputy Mack.

"Not entirely true. I found some markings on her scalp that indicated that that psycho beat her post postmortem." said the coroner.

"Suggests the unsub is getting more brazen." said Spencer.

"He's getting brazen all right, I've bagged three children in the last month." said the coroner.

"And now he's spending more time with the victims even after death. He had to know he wasn't gonna be interrupted but how? How could he be so sure?" asked Morgan.

"Forest goes for miles and miles, nobody goes walking in it. So looking to kill." said the coroner.

Morgan pointed at a sign.

"Or hunt. In which case he knows every inch of these woods, right? Every trail? Reid, whoever killed these children is very familiar with this area. In  
my opinion he probably lived in Ozona his whole life." said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was standing with Gideon and James Charles in front of the parents of Ozona, Texas.

"It could be someone you know. Or it could be a stranger you pass at the grocery store. But it's vital that we keep our eyes open. And our children close. Now as Ozona's guidance counselor, I can only help your children with the aftermath, but our police department is working with the FBI, gathering information on the case, to elaborate on that, agent Jason Gideon." said James Charles.

"We want you to know we're doing everything we can to find the person responsible. Until we do there are number of precautions that you'll need  
to take. Just let me go over some of them with you." said Gideon as he and Spencer started talking about the buddy system.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Spencer and Gideon were done speaking, Gideon looked at the parents.

"Anymore questions?" asked Gideon.

"Did you ever find his hat?" asked Elaine.

Gideon looked at the grief stricken woman.

"Excuse me?" asked Gideon.

James looked at Gideon and Spencer.

"She's Nicholas Faye's mother." said James quietly.

"The red one that I put on him, he had it on when he left." said Elaine.

"I'm sorry Mrs Faye, we haven't." said Gideon gently.

"Mandatory curfew at 5 PM. Make sure you know where your children are." said James.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was standing in the front of the room with Morgan, JJ, and Gideon.

"Can I have your attention, please? Good afternoon. We want to make something clear. Due to the velocity of change, we predict this offender could try to strike again anytime. His confidence builds with every attack." started Gideon.

"Look for someone physically fit, shy. Kind disposition, someone you may trust with your own child. Because the killer targets kids, he may be  
small himself. I know we keep referring to this Unsub as "he", do not rule out a woman." said Morgan just as a woman and little boy entered the station.

"Excuse me!" said a pregnant woman.

"Chief! You're gonna want to hear this." said a deputy.

"My son Matthew never came home today." said the mother.

"Here we go." said Morgan.

"Where was he last seen?" asked Gideon.

"His teacher saw him in the parking lot after school." said the woman.

Chief Jones looked at his officers.

"Search team." said Chief Jones.

As officers started talking, Morgan looked at Spencer as both men looked at the map.

"Okay Reid. School is on Willow road." said Morgan.

"The boy was abducted. This area would be the most secluded nearby." said Spencer.

"So Jones could route his guys to the gas station, we could cover territories..." said Morgan before he and Spencer focused on Gideon who was  
looking at Eric.

"What are you thinking about over here?" asked Gideon.

"Nothing." said Eric.

"Well you look an awful upset to be thinking about nothing. You look like you have a secret. Secrets are important." said Gideon.

Eric nodded.

"Is it about your brother?" asked Gideon.

"Honey? Is that true, are you hiding something?" asked

"You want to protect him right? That's what brothers are for." said Gideon.

"Manny said he was just clawing the doorbell. At the haunted house. On the hill." said Eric.

"It's Fennigan's place." said James.

"Who's Fennigan?" asked Gideon.

"This old guy who is in the house." said Eric.

"Forever kind of a local legend. Ghost story." said Chief Jones.

"About?" asked Spencer.

JJ led Eric and his mother away.

"He supposedly watches the kids from his window, hunts them, skins them, eats them. Standard." said Chief Jones.

"Folks have been telling that story since I was a kid." said James.

"Why haven't we heard about that? Fables are often sparked by an ounce of truth. We should exhaust every possibility." said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxxx

A couple of hours later Spencer got out of the backseat of an SUV, and Spencer looked at the house while thinking about his own love for horror movies.

"Sure looks like a haunted house." said Spencer.

"Morgan, you and Jones take the front, Reid and I'll cover the outbuildings." said Gideon.

Spencer pulled out his glock and flashlight before following Gideon, and a few minutes later Spencer and Gideon approached a closed door causing Gideon to look at Spencer.

"Go." whispered Gideon.

Spencer opened up the door, and a few seconds later Gideon entered the garage, and after Gideon checked the garage he got out.

"Clear. Go, go." said Gideon.

Spencer headed to the next outbuilding to clear, and two minutes later he met up with Gideon so they could check the last building.

"Stairwell." said Gideon.

A few seconds later Spencer was doing a light jog to the last building, and a few seconds later Gideon spoke up.

"FBI, don't move!" said Gideon.

"Okay." said Matthew.

A minute later Spencer was sighing in relief when he saw Matthew.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was sitting at old man Fennigan's desk going through papers while talking to Garcia on the phone while wishing that there was electricity.

"Did you get anything?" asked Spencer.

"Only that Fennigan's house on the hill is like the Bates Motel of Ozona, Texas." said Garcia as she continued to knit.

"You know we heard the legend." said Spencer.

"Reid, seriously, people that go into that house supposedly never come out. Spookie!" said Garcia.

"Garcia, could at least pretend not to enjoy that rumor so much, since I've actually entered the house?" asked Spencer as he thought about being in the dark.

"Sensitive. Sorry." said Garcia.

"Besides, local police say that there are no reports of that actually happening." said Spencer.

"Yeah this is true, all complaints filed were false alarms. But then there is that matter of his missing wife." said Garcia.

"Wife, what wife? When did she go missing?" asked Spencer.

"Almost 50 years ago." said Garcia.

"No record of her ever being found?" asked Spencer.

"I got two words for you, my friend: "rear window". That guy probably chopped that lady up into delicious bites and little pieces." said Garcia while Spencer heard footsteps creaking, "Think about it. She may have never left the premises. She may still be in the house..." whispered Garcia.

"Garcia, I'm sitting here in the dark alone, thanks." whispered Spencer.

"While you're waiting for a potential murderer to come home?" asked Garcia.

"It's kind of dangerous!" exclaimed Spencer

"It's kinda sexy!" said Garcia.

"I gotta go." said Spencer

"You're having creepy fun, I wish I as there!" said Garcia.

Spencer hung up, and a few seconds later he bumped into Morgan causing him to gasp.

"You really are afraid of the dark." teased Morgan.

"I'm working on that." muttered Spencer.

"You should work a little harder!" teased Morgan.

A few seconds later Spencer and Morgan were by Gideon and Chief Jones.

"My deputy got the boy home safe. Turns out the poor kid got spooked by a tree branch." said Chief Jones.

"This whole town's on edge." said Morgan.

"Maybe that's why Fennigan's in the wind." said Gideon.

A few seconds later Morgan was pointing his flashlight at Fennigan's gun rack to see a full rack.

"That's interesting." said Morgan.

"The Unsub didn't use a gun." said Spencer.

"And he knows every trail in Ozona. Fennigan's an avid hunter. Why didn't he use..." said Gideon as he picked up a backpack, "Robbie Davis." read  
Gideon.

"First victim." said Chief Jones.

Gideon picked up a second backpack.

"Sarah P. Sarah Peterson right?" asked Gideon.

"I guess Fennigan brought the kids back here first before baiting them into the woods. But why wouldn't he get rid of the evidence?" asked Morgan.

"Considers them trophies." said Spencer.

Morgan shook his head.

"When this is all said and done, I'd like to hang his head on my wall." said Morgan before walking away.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was looking at the trap that he had in his hands.

"At first blush, it looks like Joseph Fennigan died of natural causes." said the coroner.

Spencer held up the trap.

"His heart probably gave out while he was setting this." said Spencer.

"Yeah karma's a bitch. Those coyotes were on and on for all week." said the coroner.

"Before the second and third murders ever happened." said Morgan.

"This area's off a traveled path, it's a wonder anyone discovered him at all." said Spencer.

The coroner looked around.

"Is it? Those leaves didn't cover him up by themselves." said the coroner before walking away.

"He's right. The deputy may not have been the first that found him." said Morgan.

"Our only suspect's been cleared." said Spencer.

Morgan looked at Gideon.

"Square one?" asked Morgan.

"No. Fennigan's been dead all this time, who's living in his house? Let's go." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting on Fennigan's couch going through Fennigan's journals while being thankful that its morning.

"Here's a question: if a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound if there's nobody there to hear it?" asked Spencer.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"What the hell are you reading over there?" asked Morgan.

"Just thinking." said Spencer.

Morgan sat down.

"The Unsub found Fennigan's corpse in a lightly traveled part of the woods and no one else knew. So he was able to use his house and no one was  
the wiser." said Morgan.

"Actually I was referring to Fennigan's wife." said Spencer.

"What are you talking about?" asked Morgan.

"She was rumored missing, perhaps killed almost 50 years ago. When in actuality she left Fennigan for another man. He writes about it in his journals. How he would look out the window on a daily basis to see if she would come home, she never did. He never recovered, he ended up turning into a recluse that people in town misunderstood." said Spencer.

Gideon came into the living room.

"Found something." said Gideon as he motioned Spencer and Morgan to follow him.

A minute later Spencer was in the kitchen.

"Provisions. Delivered by the church to every elder's doorstep. Each one dated after Fennigan died." said Gideon as he pointed at the containers.

"So the Unsub ate everything." said Morgan.

"Almost everything. Unopened bowls of cream spinach thrown into the trash. Each one wrapped with duct tape." said Gideon.

"One with each tray." said Spencer.

"So we're looking for a guy who really really hates spinach." said Morgan.

Spencer thought about spinach being his lease favorite vegetable while knowing that he caused little Diana to hate spinach.

"Who doesn't?" asked Spencer.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Ritualized, meticulous, organized." said Gideon.

"He would eat with the same particulars." said Spencer.

"All prints, have Garcia run them for a match." said Gideon before answering his phone, "Hotch." said Gideon before walking away.

Spencer crossed his arms as he walked towards Morgan.

"It's about Elle, isn't it?" asked Spencer.

Morgan closed his own phone.

"I don't know." said Morgan.

"You know I talked to her in Ohio." said Spencer.

"Reid, we all talked to her." said Morgan.

"No, I talked to her before... I went to her room one night, and..." said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "She was drinking." said Spencer.

"She almost died. I'd be drinking too." said Morgan before leaving the room.

xxxxxxxxx

Nearly two hours later Spencer had polished off a breakfast sandwich and was drinking his coffee when Morgan looked at JJ.

"About the woods, JJ." said Morgan.

"Hmm?" asked JJ.

"Your fear. You said it was of the woods." said Morgan.

"I used to be a camp counselor, when I was a teenager. In the woods up in Vermont, at the night shift, tucked the girls in, turned off the lights.  
The typical drill. Everything seemed fine, all the kids were asleep. You know, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Until... I noticed there was some blood, on the hallway floor. So I... followed the blood trail out to the camp director's cabin, walked up to his bed and... He was just lying there, underneath his covers. Dead. Someone stabbed him. I ran out of there so fast, out the door, down the hall, I just remember it, being really dark. Once I got to the door, there was another counselor there, I guess she heard me scream. They caught the caretaker on his way to town, I guess he still had the knife on him. Anyway, I guess that's probably when I decided I didn't like the woods." said JJ.

"You're serious?" asked Morgan.

JJ stayed silent for a couple of seconds before smiling.

"No." said JJ before scoffing, "No." repeated JJ.

Morgan instantly realized that JJ played them.

"Come on. I don't know why I'm afraid of the woods, I just I am, why is he still afraid of the dark?" asked JJ as she motioned to Spencer.

"Yeah Reid, why are you still afraid of the dark?" asked Morgan.

"Because of the inherent absence of light." said Spencer.

"Oh." said JJ.

"JJ, that was pretty good, just know that paybacks are a bitch." said Morgan.

"I'm shaking." said JJ.

Morgan answered his work cellphone.

"Yeah." said Morgan.

Spencer and JJ listened to Morgan's side of the conversation causing them to realize that Garcia had found James Charles prints, and when Morgan hung up, he looked at Spencer and JJ.

"Call Gideon, we just found our Unsub." said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer stood outside of James house when the chief looked at them.

"Sure about this? Charles?" asked Chief Jones.

"Born and raise in Ozona, knows the territory, works with children." said Spencer.

"Highly organized, slight in stature, injected himself into the investigation." said Morgan.

"What do you think happened the last six months that would have changed his life?" asked Gideon.

"His wife walked out on him and his kid." said Chief Charles.

"There's your stressor." said Morgan.

JJ instantly saw James coming out of his house.

"Guys, he's on the move." said JJ.

Morgan started running causing Spencer to follow him.

"Mr. Charles!" shouted Morgan.

James started running.

"Don't do it!" shouted Morgan.

James started running causing Spencer and Morgan to run around one side of the house while Gideon and Chief Jones ran around the opposite side, and less than 30 seconds later Morgan tackled James to the ground.

"Why are you running? Give me this." said Morgan as he took the backpack and found Nicholas's hat and held it up to James, "What's this? What's  
this? What's so important about the hat?" asked an angry Morgan.

"Nicholas Faye was wearing it when he was murdered." said Gideon.

xxxxxxx

Spencer was fiddling with his bureau issued handcuffs while his glasses rested on the desk he was sitting by.

"You know, it's bad enough his mother left and now his father's in custody and- we've got to take the poor kid into child services." said JJ as she started dialing a number.

Spencer looked at JJ while knowing that he couldn't see her at all.

"It's the law..." said Spencer softly as he thought about how child services showed up after his parents died.

"So is jaywalking. I don't like it." said JJ as she pressed her phone to her ear, "Good afternoon this is agent Jareau, with the FBI, we're gonna be picking up Jeffrey Charles in about 20 minutes, if... Okay, I see. Thank you." said JJ before hanging up.

Spencer looked at JJ.

"What is it?" asked Spencer.

JJ quickly walked away causing Spencer to put his glasses back on and follow JJ, and 30 seconds later they were by Gideon.

"Jeffrey never was at school today. His father said he was sick." said JJ.

Gideon quickly called Morgan.

xxxxxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer was in James Charles house, and as he looked through the dining room he picked up an EpiPen.

"What is that?" asked the deputy.

"It's an EpiPen. Weird." said Spencer as he headed towards the fridge and opened it up to see all the dairy products covered with duct tape, "Woah."  
said Spencer.

JJ looked back at Spencer.

"Think I just found something." said Spencer.

JJ came over and looked at the contents while Spencer called Gideon.

"Yeah." answered Gideon.

"An EpiPen, and a refrigerator that's filled with dairy products that have been sealed with duct tape." said Spencer.

"Thank you, that's helpful." said Gideon before hanging up.

"What?" asked JJ.

"Jeffery Charles is our unsub." said Spencer as he explained about the creamed spinach being covered up at Fennigan's house while explaining about how dairy allergies for kids work.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer stood by the bus stop that Tracey got off at with his teammates.

"You know, after his mom left Jeffrey probably resented the fact that his dad spends more time at work with other kids than with his own." said Morgan.

"He took out that rage on any kid he viewed, as having what he didn't." said Gideon.

"So Tracey's mom said the bus would have dropped her off here after school she was supposed to walk home with a neighbor." said JJ.

"It's most likely when Jeffrey approached, but where he'd taken her?" asked Spencer.

"Such heavy patrolling in this town. How did he managed to take a little without being seen?" asked JJ.

"Because we taught him. Nobody's gonna think anything of two kids walking together. The buddy system, remember? In the process of educating the public, we educated a killer." said Morgan.

"When it's off season from baseball, where would a 12-year-old kid hang out?" asked JJ.

"A park." said Gideon.

"Surrounded by woods." said JJ.

"Let's go." said Gideon.

Two minutes later Spencer was picking up Tracey's backpack.

"Tracey Belle's." said Spencer.

"He's got her in these woods. Split up." ordered Gideon.

At that moment Spencer started sprinting through the woods, and when he heard Tracey's screaming he sprinted towards the direction of Tracey's screaming to find Gideon restraining Jeffery.

"Enough!" ordered Gideon.

JJ grabbed Tracey.

"Are you okay?" asked JJ.

"Yeah." said Tracey as she hugged JJ.

A minute later Morgan and Gideon were escorting Jeffery out of the woods while Spencer was giving eight-year-old Tracey a piggy back ride with JJ walking by his side.

xxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer looked at Morgan as they flew back to Quantico.

"I should have said something." said Spencer.

"What?" asked Morgan.

"To Gideon or Hotch, or... Any of you guys. I talked to Elle that night, and... I knew she wasn't right, but. I should have told someone." said Spencer.

Morgan set down his MP3 player and leaned towards Spencer.

"Reid. Listen to me. Do not do that to yourself. You were just trying to help a friend. You hear me? Don't go there kid. Elle made her own choice. That's on her." said Morgan.

Spencer leaned back into his seat and closed his eyes.

xxxxxxxxxx

Four hours later Spencer quietly entered Diana's bedroom, and he smiled softly at his little girl who was sleeping peacefully. After watching Diana sleep for a minute, he leaned down and kissed Diana's head.

"Daddy loves you." whispered Spencer before quietly exiting the bedroom and headed towards the master bedroom where Clarissa was walking out of their master bathroom.

"Why are you up?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband and noticed that he was wearing the same clothes that he put on two days ago causing her to realize that he had pulled an all-nighter while in Texas.

"Nature called." said Clarissa.

"Well I'm going to take a quick shower to wash the scent of the woods off of me." said Spencer as he scratched his chin and grimaced at the stubble that was growing, "And also shave since I haven't shaved over the past two days." said Spencer.

"Room for one more?" asked Clarissa.

"Always." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were taking a steamy shower together, and when they were done, Spencer talked to Clarissa about his guilt over Elle before the young couple went to sleep.

xxxxxx

The next evening Hotch looked at his brother-in-law as he thought about the conversation he had with Gideon, Clarissa, and Morgan about Spencer feeling guilty about not talking to anyone about his talk with Elle.

"You promised Elle that the conversation you two had would be confidential." said Hotch.

"I know, but she was drinking. I actually threatened her that I would go straight to you if she didn't talk to me." said Spencer.

Hotch inwardly smirked as he thought about how Spencer reminded him of a younger him before he looked at his brother-in-law.

"I shouldn't have allowed her to come back early." said Hotch.

"I still feel guilty of writing those daily letters to aunt Elena because those letters caused Randall Gardner to target us." said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"You told me that your aunt's doctor recommended that writing letters would be the best way to communicate with her, and no one is upset at you for writing those letters." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxx

Two days later Spencer was going though his personal mail and his eyes went wide when he saw a letter from Elle causing Clarissa to look at her husband.

"What is it?" asked Clarissa.

"A letter from Elle." said Spencer as he opened up the letter and quickly read it.

Spencer,

Even though I ended up resigning from the FBI and decided to move back to New York City, I have to confess that I enjoyed working with you while you became a little brother to me.

When it came to watching you and Clarissa together, I hope that someday I can find love and start a family like you did. I hope you don't mind me sending gifts for little Diana because I really fell in love with your little girl.

I'm enclosing you an address in New York City that you can send me pictures of Diana and any other children that you and Clarissa have together since I want to see Diana grow up into a beautiful young woman.

Please don't blame yourself for me leaving because I shouldn't have returned when I did, and if you ever deal with a traumatic experience in the field please don't shut Clarissa and your teammates out like I did.

Elle Greenway.

A minute later Diana looked at her daddy.

"Why you sad?" asked Diana.

Spencer looked at his little girl while feeling saddened at the thought about his little girl turning three in less than two months.

"Auntie Elle is moving away, but she promised me that she will send you presents while I send her pictures of you." said Spencer as he pulled his  
little girl onto his lap.

"I miss her." sighed Diana.

"I'll be missing her too." said Spencer before looking at his little girl, "Maybe when we go to New York City to visit uncle Sean, we can go visit aunt Elle." said Spencer.

"OK." beamed Diana before looking at her daddy, "Can we pwease go to the park?" asked Diana.

"Sure, bumblebee." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana were heading off to the park.


	41. Empty Planet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to skip North Mammon so between Halloween and Empty Planet, North Mammon happened.
> 
> Emily Prentiss will be appearing in the next chapter.

Hotch laughed when he saw Spencer and Clarissa dressed up as bee keepers while his adorable niece was dressed up as a bumble bee.

"You two are really in the Halloween spirit." said Hotch as he knelt down to give his niece a kiss on the cheek, "You make an adorable bumble bee, Diana." said Hotch.

"Thank you, unca Aaron." said Diana.  
Hotch got up to his full height and gave his baby sister a kiss on the cheek.

"With Diana's obsession over bumble bees right now, Spence and I agreed that we could dress up as bee keepers for our daughter." said Clarissa.

Spencer knelt down to his daughter's eye level.

"What noise does a bumble bee make, Diana?" asked Spencer.

"Buzz." said Diana as she ran around her aunt, uncle, and cousin's house while making buzzing noises.

"So where's my adorable nephew?" asked Clarissa.

"Haley's getting him ready." said Hotch.

Diana looked up at her uncle.

"Jack trick or treat with us?" asked Diana.

Hotch smiled at his niece as he saddened at the thought about his niece turning three in less than two months.

"He's old enough to go trick or treating for the first time, and with him being too young for candy, you can have some of his candy." said Hotch as he ran a hand through his nieces long curly brown hair.

A minute later Spencer and Clarissa were cooing at the sight of their one-year-old nephew dressed up as a bumble bee.

"When you told me that Diana's going to be a bumble bee and you two as bee keepers, I decided that Jack should also dress up as a bumble bee." said Haley.

"Have fun during your date night, and Jack will have fun with us." smiled Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, and Jack were trick or treating in their neighborhood.

xxxxxxxxx

The next Sunday, Lucy looked at Clarissa who licking her lips at the sight of her husband playing "The Magic Flute" on the piano with little Diana sitting next to him on the bench.

"Do you want me to have Diana sleep over in my cottage tonight so you two can try and conceive baby number two without waking up Diana?" whispered Lucy.

A blushing Clarissa nodded.

"Why don't you go cool yourself down." smirked Lucy.

Clarissa glared playfully at the nanny who has became a mother figure to her since they hired her.

"Your really wanting another baby to take care of." said Clarissa.

"I sure do." said Lucy.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer and Clarissa were quickly undressing each other before falling onto their bed, and little did they know, that night would cause their little family of three grow to four.

xxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was walking in the bullpen when JJ entered the bullpen.

"Hey! Morning, JJ. How was your…" said Spencer just as JJ walked past him, "Weekend?" asked Spencer.

"We might have a case, kid." said Morgan.

"I figured that." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was in the conference room with his teammates listening to the 911 call that they were sent.

"In the last 20 minutes, virtually identical threats have been made to most of the coast-to-coast news networks in the country. It's the same information just slightly different words." said JJ.

"So it's not a recorded message or script. Displays a measure of confidence." said Morgan.

"He could have easily just called one network. This guy obviously wants attention." said Spencer.

"It's typical behavior for a personal cause bomber. One bomb has a finite impact. It's just a little package. Make bunch of phone calls, that  
magnifies my explosion 100 times." said Gideon.

"We have the additional recorded calls being gathered for assessment." said JJ.

"Networks say the calls came from a restricted number. Two have given limited permission to trap and trace the lines if we should need to." said Garcia.

Hotch looked at Garcia.

"You got a news organization to agree to a trap and trace?" asked Hotch.

"Who could say "no" to me?" asked Garcia.

"This is not likely Al-Qaeda. They don't call unless they bomb something." said Morgan.

"At Homeland Security's request, the networks are going to keep this quiet until we've assessed the situation." said Garcia.

"It doesn't feel like a hoax. His voice is calm, resigned. He's made his decision. He's committed to it." said Hotch.

"Plus he said: "This is only the beginning" The beginning of what? And he also said: "until it is brought back under control". What's it? He has to call back. And if this threat isn't followed by an event, no one will take any future calls seriously." said Spencer.

"So, we're going to tell the media to go ahead with the story?" asked Garcia.

"Absolutely not." said Hotch.

"Threats like this, with an unspecified location will just cause tremendous panic." said JJ.

"Then, what are we gonna do?" asked Garcia.

"Unfortunately, all we can do is wait." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Over five hours later Spencer got out of the back seat of an SUV.

"So Seattle's where it all began." said Spencer.

"We just need to figure out what it is. And off the top of my head, I can think of grunge music and overpriced coffee." said Morgan.

"That doesn't seem significant enough for terrorism." said Spencer.

"It's a personal cause bomber. It only needs to be of significance to him." said Gideon just as Agent Nick Casey approached them.

"Agent Nick Casey, Seattle field office." said Agent Casey as he shook hands with Hotch.

"SSA Hotchner, how do you do?" asked Hotch before he gestured to his brother in law first, "This is Dr. Spencer Reid, SSA Morgan, Agent Jareau, and SSA Gideon. Have you identified the device?" asked Hotch.

"Looks like a small pipe bomb attached to an umbrella." said Agent Casey.

"I'd like to take a look at those bomb fragments as soon as possible I've got bomb squad experience." said Morgan.

"As soon as they're cataloged." said Agent Casey.

Spencer started walking around the outside of the bus.

"How many people were on the bus when the explosion went off?" asked Spencer.

"25 including the driver. Explosion killed two. The driver and a young male. Injured seven." said Agent Casey.

"A pipe bomb on a crowded city bus and only two people are killed?" asked Morgan.

"Had a relatively small charge. The two dead were found closest to the bomb at the time of detonation. Sylvia Cohen, an elderly passenger, found the umbrella on the floor at her feet. She said the young man volunteered to take it to the driver for her. She's pretty broken up about it." said Agent Casey.

"Have you vetted and debriefed the rest of the passengers?" asked Hotch.

"I have their info if you want to talk to them." said Agent Casey.

"Did you get their positions?" asked Hotch.

"Sorry?" asked Agent Casey.

"Where they were on the bus?" asked Hotch.

"No." said Agent Casey.

"JJ, maybe you can recontact the passengers and map their locations." said Hotch as everyone started walking again.

"Yeah, you got it." said JJ.

"Nobody saw anyone leave the umbrella?" asked Gideon.

"No. But, you know, from the style it looks like a... remote detonator on the corner over there." said Agent Casey.

"You say remote?" asked Morgan.

"Limited frequency remote." said Agent Casey.

"Like a garage door opener?" asked Spencer.

"Something like that." said Agent Casey.

Gideon stepped onto the bus.

"That's awfully risky. Anyone on this bus could have accidentally detonated the bomb just by pulling out of their garage." said Morgan.

"That's right." said Agent Casey.

A few minutes later Hotch was looking at the corner.

"He used a remote from the corner. Did he want to be close enough to see what happened Or did he need to be mechanically?" asked Hotch.

"Those remotes are pretty limited. He probably needed to be." said Morgan.

"Then he might have been nervous." said Hotch.

"Maybe that made him stand out. I could set up a public service announcement encouraging anyone who was in the area of the time of the  
bombing to contact us." said JJ.

"Well, we do need a press conference. But it'll be about getting this unsub to call us." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer has his neon green latex free gloves on as he looked at the bomb fragments that were in Morgan's hands.

"You know, Reid, the bomber could have bought this detonator at any old toy store You take a remote control car, plane, boat, attach a detonator like this to the motor, touch the remote, boom! Instant fourth of July." said Morgan just as a woman approached them, "How you doing? I'm Derek Morgan. This is Dr. Spencer Reid. We're with the BAU." said Morgan.

"Cassandra Atkins. Cass or Cassy works, too. Bomb tech." said Cassandra as she passed the pieced together bomb to Morgan.

Morgan admired Cassandra's work.

"It's a really nice reconstruction." said Morgan.

"Oh, it wasn't that hard. Explosive was limited and the fragments were comparatively easy to locate." said Cassandra.

"Okay so tell me what else you got here?" asked Morgan.

"Well, besides the light explosive load, he used dry peas." said Cassandra.

"Dry peas... He chose a shrapnel that wouldn't do too much damage outside of a limited range. Why? What's he doing, trying to minimize his kills?" asked Morgan.

"It also has a picture engraved on it." said Cassandra as she moved the reconstructed bomb closer to Spencer.

Spencer quickly removed his glasses and moved his head closer to the bomb and squinted at the picture.

"It's a robot with an arrow through it." said Spencer as he slipped his glasses back on.

"Anti-robotics?" asked Morgan.

Spencer quickly came to a realization.

"Doesn't the city center bus stop use smart buses?" asked Spencer.

"Smart buses?" asked Morgan.

"Yeah. Hi-tech buses that use time sensors on the buses and the bus stops to give out arrival and departure times?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah. Went automated last year." said Cassandra.

"So he's anti-technology." said Morgan.

"Maybe." said Spencer.

Morgan got up and quickly called Garcia causing the 25-year-old genius to listen to Morgan's side of the conversation.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer watched the video with his male teammates, Agent Casey, and Cassandra while they video chatted with Garcia.

"What else do you have, Garcia?" asked Gideon.

"I also found an article in the St. Dennis university college newspaper. Last spring, close to the school, an internet café was attacked. Someone created floppy disk bombs that went off in four of the computers. No one was injured." said Garcia.

Spencer who was standing between his brother in law and Morgan with his arms crossed looked at Garcia.

"Who uses floppy disks anymore?" asked Spencer.

"Right, Agent Brain, that was the point of the attack. They left a note: "ultimately, you'll be as obsolete as your graveyard technology"." said Garcia.

"Is the note signed?" asked Hotch.

""FFT Brigade" I'm finding references to a freedom from technology brigade, a fringe group that's showing up lately." said Garcia.

"Anything else in the note?" asked Hotch.

"Yeah. There's a not very artistic drawing of what kind of looks like a... Robot with an arrow through it. I'm uploading it to you now." said Garcia.

Gideon grabbed a file and looked at the picture that was on the bomb.

"You know, Seattle's the birthplace of some of the most cutting edge technology in the world." said Spencer.

"Where it began. I think we're ready to give a profile." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"We believe the unsub resides in Seattle. All of the attacks, most of which have just involved property damage, have taken place here, and the timing and location indicate knowledge of the area. Even though he escalated to a lethal bombing today, we don't believe that that was necessarily his intention." started Hotch.

"In fact, anyone not directly next to the device received minor injuries. So we think fear may have been the larger motive." said Morgan.

"So he's a terrorist then." said Agent Casey.

"He is, but... That's too vague of a description for our purposes. Douglas and Olshaker categorize bombers as criminal, group cause, psychologically disorganized, and... Personal cause bombers. And we believe this guy to be a personal cause bomber." said Spencer.

"And personal cause bombers are motivated by an underlying emotional conflict." said Hotch.

Spencer stood up as he thought about the case that his godmother worked on.

"In an interview from prison, the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynksi, admitted that while he was a graduate student at the university of Michigan, he started having fantasies of becoming a woman. Even got on a list to get a sex-change operation but, during a mandatory psychological exam prior to the procedure, he changed his mind. He told the psychologist that he made a mistake." said Spencer.

"From that moment through the next three decades of his life, Ted Kaczynksi carried out a campaign of isolation and murder." said Gideon.

Spencer sat back down.

"This unsub is male. He lives alone. He's possibly self-employed. He's highly organized. He's meticulous. And he's very smart." said Morgan.

"And he seems odd to those who know him. Angry, distant, prone to sudden violent rage. This is not the kind of guy whose neighbors will be surprised to find out what he's arrested for. This guy's neighbors will have no trouble believing it." said Hotch.

"Targets appear to be technology, but not the hi-tech variety. The kind of technology we're surrounded by." said Gideon.

"In a city the size of Seattle, we're talking 10,000 possible targets." said Hotch just as Agent Casey answered a phone call.

"Agent Gideon, you got a call on the tip line." said Agent Casey.

A few seconds later Hotch, Gideon, and Agent Casey left the room.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer followed his brother-in-law towards the gas station that was bombed.

"Can you smell that? Same explosive, just more of it." asked Morgan.

"Yeah. And same detonation device, too." said Cassandra.

"The gas station closed 15 minutes prior to the explosion. Fortunately, the worker had already gone home." said Spencer.

"No casualties, an escalation in the size of the explosion, and a decrease in the number of victims. We need to do a grid search as soon as possible." said Hotch.

"What do I tell them we're looking for?" asked Agent Casey.

"Said his message would be here when we arrived." said Gideon.

A few minutes later Cassandra was wearing her bomb squad gear as she opened up a metal box.

"Clear!" shouted Cassandra.

Spencer quickly went into the destroyed gas station with his male teammates.

"It's a book." said Cassandra.

Spencer who already had his neon green latex free gloves on grabbed the books.

"It says, "manifesto"." said Spencer.

"Bag it." said Gideon.

xxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer has summarized the unsub's manifesto to Hotch and Gideon and was jotting notes onto a small white board.

"His manifesto's main demand is completely unrealistic: stop all automated machinery that's replaced American workers within a week." said Hotch.

"And if his demands aren't met, he says he'll detonate even larger bombs." said JJ.

"So we have an anti-technology bomber who so far has attacked computers, an automated cashier, an automated gas station, and a smart bus." said Hotch.

"Who calls himself Allegro." said Gideon.

Spencer quickly thought about how the name Allegro sounded familiar.

"What was that?" asked Spencer.

"He told me to call him Allegro." said Gideon.

Spencer thought about one of his most favorite books from his childhood that was still on his book shelf at home.

"Of course. Yeah, it's a book." said Spencer excitably.

"Yeah, it ought to be." muttered Morgan.

"No, no It's an actual book, a novel I read it as a kid. It's called "Empty Planet" by one-hit-wonder author David Hansberry. It's got it all: technoids, minutians. All that stuff's in there. It's robots that take over the world once they figure out how to reproduce with humans. Essentially, humanity's lost to technology and the hero of the book is a 12-year-old boy named Allegro who builds an army and fights for the humans." rambled Spencer.

"Morgan, have Garcia get as much information as possible on the author of "Empty Planet"." ordered Gideon before looking at Spencer, "David Hansberry?" asked Gideon.

"Hansberry, yeah." said Spencer.

"I'm on it." said Morgan before walking away.

"There was a passenger on the bus yesterday, a Dr. Emory Cooke. He's supposed to be some kind of computer genius, pioneer in artificial life." said JJ.

Spencer smiled slightly as he recognized the name.

"Yeah, Cooke. He developed software that mirrors the human reproductive system. Computers that can replicate themselves." said Spencer.

"So maybe Cooke was the target and not the smart bus." said Hotch.

"If so, that would definitely be imitating events from the book. Allegro and his army not only destroyed robots, but they assassinate the scientists that are responsible for creating them." said Spencer.

JJ who was looking at the map of the seating on the bus spoke up.

"Dr. Cooke was sitting right in front of Sylvia Cohen." said JJ.

"And the umbrella was initially found underneath Dr. Cooke's seat." said Gideon.

"Yeah." said JJ.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer excitably shook hands with Dr. Cooke before sitting down.

"Thank you for coming so quickly, Dr. Cooke. People, particularly some religious fundamentalists, oppose the work you do. Do you receive any  
threatening letters or phone calls from anyone about your work?" asked Gideon.

"Never." said Dr. Cooke.

"Really?" asked Gideon.

"I've managed to put to rest certain anxieties about the godlessness of artificial life by openly sharing my own personal beliefs." said Dr. Cooke.

"Which are?" asked Gideon.

"No scientific knowledge precludes the existence of God." said Dr. Cooke.

"There are also those with... Very strong ethical concerns." said Gideon.

"Ethical concerns revolve mainly around the manipulation of already-existing life forms. My work is on creating artificial life, which presents far less ethical dilemma." said Dr. Cooke.

"Not from the man that put the bomb on the bus yesterday. He seems to be obsessed with the science fiction novel by David Hansberry called "Empty Planet"." said Spencer.

"Are you familiar with the book?" asked Gideon.

"I'm from friends with the author." said Dr. Cooke before looking at Spencer and Gideon, "Ursula Kent is a brilliant woman. She's a post-modernist literature professor. Every semester I give a guest lecture in her class." said Dr. Cooke.

"She... she's here? In Seattle?" asked Gideon.

"Is that not what I just said?" asked Dr. Cooke.

Gideon stood up.

"Sir, this guy reads "Empty Planet" like it's prophecy. He's targeting what he considers threats to the survival of human beings, and I believe that he finds you one of these threats, Dr. Cooke." said Gideon.

"As I've said, I rather doubt that." said Dr. Cooke.

"Do you think the fact that you were on that bus and you're friends with the author is a coincidence?" asked Gideon.

"A cognitive scientist at MIT once said: "Coincidences seem to be the source for some of our greatest irrationalities"." quoted Dr. Cooke.

Spencer smiled a bit as he recognized the quote from one of his two Alma Maters as he turned to Gideon.

"Our minds see coincidences and..." said Spencer.

"I understood him." said Gideon before looking at Dr. Cooke, "I'd like to attach a protective detail for you, Dr. Cooke, until we find the guy." said Gideon.

Dr. Cooke stood up.

"No, thank you." said Dr. Cooke.

"Excuse me?" asked Gideon.

"Really, now. Do I seem like the sort who would want to be followed around all day by a government goon squad? I don't think so." said Dr. Cooke before leaving the room.

"Goon squad?" asked Morgan.

"Ever talk to someone who wants to continually show you he's smarter than you?" asked Gideon.

Morgan looked at Spencer and gestured to him.

"Everyday." said Morgan.

"I really hate that." said Gideon.

"Garcia found the author of the book. David Hansberry's just a pen name. The real name is…" said Morgan.

"Ursula Kent. The professor of post-modern literature at St. Dennis university where the floppy disc bombs were sent." said Spencer.

Morgan chuckled.

"Anyway, JJ's contacting her, we can go see her any time." said Morgan.

Gideon looked at Spencer.

"Let's go." said Gideon.

Spencer got up.

"We need to stop by a bookstore and get a copy of "Empty Planet". I want to re-read before we talk to the author. I haven't read it since I was 6." said Spencer.

Morgan looked at Spencer in shock while he followed Spencer and Gideon.

"6? I was still riding my big wheel at 6-years-old." said Morgan.

"Do you mind? It'll only take 10 minutes." said Spencer.

"To buy it or read it?" asked Gideon.

"Oh, both, actually." said Spencer before walking away.

A few minutes later Spencer was in the front seat of an SUV, and Spencer was sending Clarissa a text message.

I GET TO MEET PROFESSOR URSULA KENT WHO'S THE AUTHOR OF "EMPTY PLANET"! ~ SR

A few seconds later Clarissa replied.

I'M SO JEALOUS BECAUSE "EMPTY PLANET" IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS! ~ CR

Gideon looked at Spencer who was smiling at a text message.

"Why don't you take a few minutes to call Lucy so you can talk to your daughter." said Gideon.

"OK." said Spencer as he pulled out his personal phone and called the nanny's number.

"Are you coming home, Spencer?" asked Lucy.

"No, but I have a few minutes to talk to Diana." said Spencer.

"I'll put her on." said Lucy.

A minute later Spencer smiled when he heard his little girl's voice.

"Hi, daddy." said Diana.

"Hey there, Diana." said Spencer.

"I miss you, daddy." said Diana.

"I miss you too, bumble bee." said Spencer.

Diana started telling her father about what he has done for the day, and when they reached a book store, Spencer politely interrupted his daughter.

"Daddy has to get back to work, bumble bee." said Spencer.

"I love you, daddy." said Diana.

"I love you too, Diana." said Spencer before hanging up and sighed sadly, "I just can't believe that she will be three-years-old next month." said  
Spencer.

Gideon looked at the 25-year-old genius as he thought about how happy he is for Spencer when it came to having a happy marriage and a beautiful daughter.

"Me either, and hopefully you and Clarissa will be expecting another child soon." said Gideon.

Spencer blushed a bit as he thought about his and Clarissa's Sunday night activities.

"I'll make it quick as I can." said Spencer.

"OK." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer approached the SUV that Gideon was in.

"Got it. It was the last copy left, according to the clerk, it's actually become a pretty popular novel in science fiction circles." said Spencer as he sat down in the front passenger seat.

Gideon's cellphone rang causing Spencer to listen to Gideon's side of his conversation with Hotch.

"Looks like a pipe bomb at the water works." said Gideon.

"Are we gonna go there?" asked Spencer as he continued to read his copy of "Empty Planet".

"No, we'll still go see professor Kent." said Gideon before he looked at Spencer who still hasn't buckled up, "Seat belts." said Gideon.

Spencer buckled himself up while Gideon started driving.

xxxxxx

Spencer smiled a bit when Professor Kent approached them.

"Hello. Ursula Kent." said Ursula.

Gideon showed Ursula his badge before shaking her hand.

"Hi. My pleasure, professor Kent. Jason Gideon, FBI. This is Dr. Reid." said Gideon.

Spencer eagerly shook Ursula's hand.

"It's a real pleasure to meet you. I'm a fan of your work." said Spencer.

Ursula smiled at Spencer.

"Well, that's very nice of you to say. We can speak in my office." said Ursula.

"Lead the way." said Gideon.

A few seconds later the trio were heading up the stairs.

"Your book has become a significant part of our investigation." said Gideon.

"So your colleague explained. I can't imagine how, though." said Ursula.

"Bomber sees it is some kind of prophetic work. He's attempting to save humanity by stopping the proliferation of robotic technology." said  
Gideon.

"Well, that's absurd." said Ursula.

"He's written a document-like manifesto called a guide to practical living, and several sections of it are lifted directly from "Empty Planet"." said Spencer.

"He's taken up what he believes to be your cause and... He's killing people for the sake of it." said Gideon.

A few minutes later Ursula was grabbing a copy of "Empty Planet" off of her book shelf.

"But "Empty Planet" is a fantasy." said Ursula.

"Not to this man." said Gideon.

"How could anyone think it's more than that?" asked Ursula.

"Unfortunately, it's impossible to predict how an unstable mind will interpret something." said Spencer as he sat down.

"And it's caused him to kill people?" asked Ursula as she fiddled with her necklace.

"Do you know a Dr. Emory Cooke?" asked Gideon.

"Very well." said Ursula.

"He spoke to your classes?" asked Gideon.

"Yes." said Ursula.

"Dr. Cooke was murdered by the bomber an hour ago." said Gideon.

Ursula looked at Gideon and then Spencer in shock as she sat down.

"No." said Ursula.

A few minutes later Spencer noticed the necklace that Ursula was fiddling with.

"Professor, what is that?" asked Spencer.

"This is something someone... A brilliant man gave me a long time ago before he died." said Ursula as she showed Spencer her necklace, "Actually, it's part of the inspiration for "Empty Planet". James was a rather early alarmist about how much we were letting technology control our lives. It's become a sort of talisman for me." said Ursula.

"You wear it when you teach?" asked Gideon.

"Sometimes, yes." said Ursula.

Gideon showed the photo that was on a bomb.

"This has been etched on the bomber's devices." said Gideon.

Ursula looked at the picture.

"Oh, my God!" exclaimed Ursula as she started to remove her necklace.

"Bomber's written a manifesto he wants published, but not in the national newspaper. He wants it published in the Seattle Ledger. He wants someone here to read it." said Gideon.

"Have you ever had a student you think might be capable of doing something like this?" asked Spencer.

"One of my students?" asked Ursula.

Spencer nodded.

"Someone who hates technology? I'm a post-modernist. In my area of study, technological inventions are often viewed as art objects." said Ursula as she handed the photos back to Spencer.

"That's true, but oftentimes the biggest critics of technology are those with scientific backgrounds, and... Your students definitely fit that category." said Spencer.

Gideon handed the unsub's manifesto to Ursula.

"I need you to read this. Tell me if the writing seems at all familiar to you. We'll wait." said Gideon.

Ursula slipped on her glasses and started reading the unsub's manifesto while Spencer started reading "Empty Planet".

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ursula watched Spencer read her book when Gideon approached her with a piece of paper.

"Is this the syllabus for your class?" asked Gideon.

"Yes." said Ursula.

"Is it the same every semester?" asked Gideon.

"Mostly, maybe a book or project changed." said Ursula.

"You only have two guest lecturers listed." said Gideon.

"Yes... Dr. Cooke and Dr. Brasier. I always have those two, they're the only two I invite. They speak to every new class. Dr. Cooke is... was... An expert on artificial life, and Dr. Brasier..." said Ursula.

Spencer quickly remembered the name.

"Artificial intelligence." said Spencer.

"Dr. Brasier have an office on campus?" asked Gideon.

"No, it's cross town at Rolling Hills." said Ursula.

"Morgan, I may have something." said Gideon before hanging up.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer looked at Gideon who was talking on the phone with Hotch.

"Thanks, Hotch. Yeah, I'm right here." said Gideon before hanging up.

"So?" asked Spencer.

"Bomb tech's just about ready." said Gideon.

"Maybe we should get over there." said Spencer.

"No, I think we would just be in the way." said Gideon.

Spencer thought about the man who has became a big brother to him.

"What about Morgan?" asked Spencer.

"He hasn't changed his mind." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Aside from the sections of my novel that were blatantly plagiarized, I didn't recognize anything. It's just page after page of the ravings of a lunatic." said Ursula.

Gideon got up.

"Right now, a young man I greatly respect and admire is putting his life on the line because of that lunatic." said Gideon.

"I'll look through it again." said Ursula.

"Thank you." said Gideon.

xxxxxx

Gideon called Hotch to check on Morgan, and after hearing that Morgan and Dr. Brasier safe, Gideon made a decision.

"Now blow the car up." said Gideon.

"You're blowing it up?" asked Ursula.

"Best way to keep Dr. Brasier safe is... By letting the bomber think he was successful in killing her. Neighbors will hear an explosion, it'll be on the news." said Gideon.

"You have a complicated life." said Ursula.

Spencer slung his messenger bag over his shoulder.

"Complicated world." smiled Gideon.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be more help." said Ursula.

"Yeah, me, too." said Gideon.

All three adults left Ursula's office.

"Give the manifesto a little more thought. Maybe something will occur to you without the pressure of us looming over you." said Spencer.

"You could go back over your student list. Think about the males. Anything odd about them. Guy probably had a temper. Something... you maybe haven't thought about for years." said Gideon.

"I'll have my TA pull the files." said Ursula.

Spencer looked at Ursula.

"May I ask you something, ma'am?" asked Spencer.

"Of course." said Ursula.

"Why didn't you ever write another book?" asked Spencer.

Gideon looked at Ursula.

"I guess it was the only story I needed to tell." said Ursula before becoming serious, "I'll be working in my office most of the night, don't hesitate to call." said Ursula.

Gideon shook hands with Ursula.

"Thank you. Have a good night." said Gideon.

"You too." said Ursula.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer was writing the summary of "Empty Planet" onto the white board.

"So it begins with the father's suicide." said Spencer as he drew underlines under certain words.

"Okay we got five crime scenes' worth of new information to go through. And the targets that the unsub chose for the decoy bombs do they force a change in the profile?" asked Hotch just as Morgan entered the room with Cassandra.

"I don't think so, I think they are what they are decoys to throw us off the trail of Dr. Brasier." said Morgan.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Reid, what's that?" asked Hotch.

"It's the subplot of the "Empty Planet" book." said Spencer.

"Allegro kills his mother?" asked Gideon.

"Yeah, at the end, he discovers he's adopted, he's reunited with his birth mom. He thanks her for having the strength to give him a better life, but... Ironically, he realizes that she herself has become a robot, so he kills her. He sacrifices the one person in the world he has a biological connection with for the greater good." said Spencer.

"Wow. I thought we were talking about some geeky sci-fi book here." said JJ.

"That sounds like Greek tragedy." said Hotch as he made a mental note that he needed to read the book since he remembered seeing Clarissa read the book.

"It's not played as a tragedy at all though. In fact, his mother's incredibly proud of this final act, like it's the ultimate fulfillment of his destiny, proof that... Proof that she was right to have given him up in the first place." said Spencer.

"Wait a minute, If he kills her, how do you know she was proud?" asked Gideon.

"It's told from her point of view, the whole book is. It's kind of like she's talking to the reader from heaven." said Spencer.

"Mother's the narrator." said Gideon.

"Yeah it's really her story." said Spencer.

Gideon quickly remembered Ursula's answer to Spencer's question.

"Only story she needed to tell." said Gideon.

"And in order to fulfill the story, he's gotta kill his mother." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

A couple of hours later Hotch set his cards down as he got up.

"I'll be right back." said Hotch before looking at his brother-in-law, "Do not cheat." ordered Hotch.

Spencer made a 'who me' gesture at his brother-in-law, and as soon as Hotch was away he peeked at his brother-in-law's cards before looking at JJ.

"JJ, a lot of science fiction's deeper than you might think." said Spencer.

"Hm hmm." said JJ as she looked for her next couple of cards to put down.

"There are some genuine human emotions..." said Spencer.

"Yeah, let me save you the time, Reid. I am never going to Comic Con with you." said JJ.

Spencer inwardly smirked as he thought about how he and Clarissa were already planning their costumes for their next trip to Comic Con.

"I…." said Spencer just as she put down her cards.

"Gin." said JJ.

Spencer coughed a bit as he looked at the cards.

"What, you don't trust me?" laughed JJ.

"Come on. Let's just make sure." said Spencer.

"It's fun beating a genius." said JJ.

"Genius Dr. Reid let you win." said Spencer.

JJ laughed before both young agents decided to listen to Morgan's and Gideon's conversation, and when Hotch joined them all three agents started another game of gin.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer entered his house and he smiled when he saw Lucy sitting on the couch reading to Diana before Lucy whispered into Diana's ears causing Diana's blue eyes to go wide when she saw her daddy.

"Daddy!" cried Diana as she jumped off her nanny's lap and ran to her daddy.

Spencer knelt down.

"I missed you." said Spencer as he hugged his daughter tightly before kissing Diana's forehead.

"Clarissa's already at work." said Lucy.

Spencer stood up to his full height with Diana on his hip.

"I know since she told me in a text message that you and Clarissa made sure to keep some breakfast warm for me." said Spencer tiredly while his stomach growled.

Five minutes later Spencer was eating breakfast while occasionally giving his daughter a bite, and 45 minutes later Spencer was falling into his bed  
to catch up on some sleep.


	42. The Last Word

Clarissa looked at Spencer as they worked on cooking dinner together.

"Are we still planning on driving up to New Haven to celebrate Thanksgiving?" asked Clarissa.

"Do you still want to go up there?" asked Spencer.

"I do, and I don't mind us having to celebrate our anniversary early again." said Clarissa.

"I just can't believe it that we'll be celebrating six years of friendship and our four year wedding anniversary." said Spencer.

"Me too." said Clarissa.

"Meeting you has been one of the best days of my life." said Spencer.

"Mine too, but do you have any other best days of your life?" asked Clarissa.

"Marrying you, joining the BAU, and holding Diana for the first time." said Spencer.

"Marrying you, reaching my goal to work at Children's National, and giving birth to Diana." said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxx

The next day later Spencer was standing by the conference room table with a cup of coffee.

"St. Louis is in trouble." stated JJ.

"They've got two serial killers." said Hotch.

"This killer abducts his victims from public places, dumps them in the woods. They consulted us months ago after the third murder." said Gideon.

"Well, now it might be up to 6." said JJ as she showed a picture of one of the victims, "Ellen Carroll's been missing since yesterday. The first two victims were found near Mill Creek, in Mark Twain national forest." said JJ.

Spencer who was studying a map of the forest spoke up.

"No wonder it takes days to find the bodies. The forest is 1.5 million acres and 78,000 of that is wilderness." said Spencer.

Hotch looked at a board that contained pictures from the second serial killer.

"What's the story with these women?" asked Hotch.

"Eight victims. All prostitutes. Latest is Marci Mitchell. She was killed last night with a .44 magnum. All are tied to a serial shooter claiming responsibility. He's contacted Jim Meyers, a reporter at the Missouri Herald." said JJ as she showed the letter that the shooter sent Jim Meyers.

"So he's not getting the attention he thinks he deserves." said Hotch.

"He signs it the Hollow Man, names himself for the press." said JJ.

"Why Hollow Man? What, he feels empty inside or something?" asked Morgan.

"He uses hollow point bullets. No one even knew this guy existed until he sent this letter." said JJ.

"Well, he's killed more victims, but look who he's chosen. Hundreds of victims go unnoticed because they're social outcasts." said Hotch.

"When Mill Creek kills, the Hollow Man shoots another prostitute." said Spencer.

"So one doesn't want to be outdone by the other. Sounds like sibling rivalry to me." said Morgan.

"They've been killing independently of each other for a year now." said Hotch.

"With each kill they're learning something... From the other." said Gideon.

Hotch gave a departure time, and a few minutes later Spencer was in the bathroom sending Clarissa a text message.

GOING TO ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI. I PROMISE TO STAY SAFE AND I LOVE YOU AND DIANA. ~ SR

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was rubbing his eyes while his glasses sat on the table, and a minute later JJ passed him a file before sitting down next to him.

"What's wrong?" asked JJ.

"Did you know there are roughly 30 serial killers at large in the US at any given time? It's an incredibly rare occurrence to have them operating in the same city." said Spencer.

"How many times has that happened?" asked JJ.

"To my knowledge, three times. There was a guy killing at the same time as the Son of Sam. And then again in New Orleans, and most recently with the Phoenix murders." said Spencer.

"Serial shooters are typically loners. This guy likes to kill at night. His victims are prostitutes, so he may lack confidence with women or have poor social skills." said Hotch.

"There's no rape. The guy could be impotent." said Morgan.

"He's a wannabe tough guy." said Gideon.

"It's not hard to be tough holding a .44." said JJ.

"The gun gives him power and lets him maintain distance from the kill. This guy doesn't want to touch the bodies with his hands." said Spencer.

"Mill Creek killer. Hunts during the day, targets educated, middle-class women. He'd have to look and act like they do." said Gideon as he laid   
pictures onto the table that Spencer, Hotch, and JJ were sitting at.

"The women died from blunt force head traumas. This guy wants to be close, he wants to feel the life leave their bodies. These guys are polar opposites." said Spencer as he thought about Clarissa and himself being polar opposites.

"Just like their victims. They live in the same city but they're worlds apart. I'm gonna see if the shooter's victims have any families I can talk to." said Hotch.

"That's a good idea. I'm already familiar with the Mill Creek case." said Gideon.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Reid, can you take a look at the letter for handwriting analysis and psycho linguistics?" asked Hotch.

Spencer took a sip of his coffee.

"Of course." said Spencer while knowing that he would be focusing on the Hollow Man killer with Hotch.

Morgan looked at Gideon.

"Looks like I'm with you. I'll go have a talk with Ellen Carroll's husband." said Morgan.

"I'm meeting Jim Meyers, the reporter from the Missouri Herald." said JJ.

"Tell him not to write about the Hollow Man. If we want to draw the shooter out, best way to do that is to act like he doesn't exist." instructed Gideon.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer and Hotch headed to the door of the apartment that Marcie resided in, and a few seconds later Hotch knocked on the door causing a woman to open up the chained door a bit.

"Agents Hotchner and Reid, FBI." said Hotch as he showed Betty his badge.

"What do you want?" asked Betty.

"We'd like to talk to you." said Hotch.

"Hold that badge up again." said Betty.

Hotch showed Betty his badge again before he and Spencer were let into the apartment causing both men to see a toddler on the couch.

"We're here to talk to you about Marcie Mitchell." said Hotch.

"I'm her mother." said Betty just as a young boy ran into the room.

"I'm sorry for your loss, ma'am." said Hotch.

"What's this?" asked Jason.

"They're for me. Take your brother inside." said Betty.

The toddler on the couch started crying.

"Is this about mom?" asked Jason.

"I said inside." ordered Betty.

Jason picked up his little brother and carried him to a bedroom, and a few seconds later Betty noticed that Spencer and Hotch were starting at the glass of alcohol on the table.

"You gonna judge me or ask questions?" asked Betty.

Spencer's heart melted as he continued to hear the toddler cry.

"Is there anyone who can help you with the kids?" asked Spencer.

"Is that what you came here for?" asked Betty.

"Ma'am, we've just been assigned your daughter's case. We're in the process of gathering information, but so far no witnesses have come forward." said Hotch.

"Well, around here guns go off like those damn car alarms, every 15 minutes. Nobody's stupid enough to talk, nobody cares." said Betty.

"We do." said Spencer.

"You wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for them." said Betty as she picked up a newspaper and showed it to Spencer and Hotch, ""Heinous crimes against upstanding members of the community." Nobody writes about prostitutes being shot because they won't admit they think they're cleaning up the place." said Betty.

"You're right. Cases like your daughter's usually go unsolved. The problem is people aren't looking for them because they don't know that they're missing. Part of her job was... To stay below the radar. Doesn't mean she was any less important." said Hotch.

"She made bad choices. But she was a good person. She loved those boys. Whoever shot her should pay for what they did. So don't come in here and say you're sorry. Just do something about it." said Betty.

"We will, Ma'am." said Hotch.

As the toddler continued to cry, Spencer made his decision and went into the room and picked up the toddler and carried him into the living room.

"Its OK, little guy." soothed Spencer as he used a bouncing method that he used for Diana and Jack while making funny faces at the toddler.

Jason's little brother stopped crying and started to laugh causing an impressed Betty to look at Spencer.

"You have any kids, nieces, or nephews?" asked Betty.

Spencer smiled a bit.

"I have a little girl who will be three next month, and I also have a one-year-old nephew." said Spencer as he continued to bounce the toddler on   
his hip.

Betty looked at Hotch.

"What about you?" asked Betty.

"I have a one-year-old son and a niece that will be three next month." said Hotch.

Betty quickly connected the dots.

"You two are brother-in-laws." said Betty.

Spencer and Hotch nodded.

xxxxxxx  
The next morning Spencer was at the recent crime scene of the Hollow Man Killer's victims with Hotch.

"Two victims at once. That's a first for him. You think he went out looking to kill more than one woman or is it just happenstance?" asked Spencer as he walked towards his brother-in-law.

"He chose a different hunting ground. Yes, we're in an alley, but we're behind an expensive hotel in a nice neighborhood. You get a different class   
of prostitute, ones that don't walk the street alone." said Hotch.

"He was looking for a challenge." said Spencer.

"Question is, what gave him the confidence to stray out of his comfort zone?" asked Hotch before looking at a CSI tech who was picking up the newspaper, "Make sure to run that for prints." said Hotch.

"He displayed the newspaper between them. He took the time when he could've just tossed it aside." said Spencer.

"It's deliberate. He wants us to know he's angry." said Hotch.

"Angry enough to change his MO." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxx

JJ pinned the latest crime scene photos onto the white board they were given to use.

"Too bad we couldn't trace any prints from the newspaper." asked JJ before looking at Spencer who was holding a remote for the projector he borrowed, "What have you got?" asked JJ.

Spencer pulled up the letter onto the screen.

"He only sent this to an individual, which shows he's not confident enough to initiate contact with the masses." said Spencer as he pulled up a picture of a zoomed in part and walked to the screen and pointed out what he found, "Emotional indicators are analyzed through slants. The shooter maintains vertical, narrow-lettered writing, both signs of repression. And the pressure, if you look closely, is excessively heavy, which shows that he's uptight and can easily overreact." said Spencer.

"You got all that from his handwriting?" asked JJ.

Spencer nodded.

"Graphology is an effective and reliable indicator of personality and behavior." said Spencer.

"My writing's always different." said JJ.

"That's because it symbolizes your emotions at that given time, just like your facial expressions parallel the way you're feeling while you're speaking." said Spencer.

JJ looked at the zoomed in letter.

"I'm surprised this guy writes in cursive. His message is so clear. I would've thought he'd print everything." said JJ.

"Actually, his connected writing shows that he deals with problems in a practical and direct manner." said Spencer.

"Like shooting someone." said JJ.

"Exactly." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer walked to the front of the room while holding a cup of coffee.

"The Hollow Man uses simple statements, all first person. For example: "I won't be ignored." He's obviously tired of feeling this way. It's quite possible he has a job in solitude or one that he feels strips him of his identity. His job might require him to wear a uniform, something that shows absolutely no individuality. Or he may be overqualified for his menial job and feels that he doesn't get the respect that he necessarily deserves." said Spencer before heading to the short book shelf that Hotch was sitting on.

"But today he's killed two women, which tells us he's growing confident. This makes him unpredictable and dangerous. And because he has no physical contact with his victims, it's going to make him that much harder to catch." said Hotch.

"We have more information on the Mill Creek killer because he spends a lot of time with his victims before and after his kills." said Morgan.

"Because his victims willingly follow him in broad daylight, he appears harmless. He's most likely handsome." said Gideon.

"Handsome?" asked Agent Sheridan.

"Yes. These women wouldn't follow an unattractive man. They just wouldn't." said Gideon.

"He's handsome, and he's got the socials kills to trick his victims. Those who know him well, they'd be shocked to learn that he's the man that we're after." said Morgan.

"He's been able to get his victims away from family, friends. Obviously, this makes him feel powerful." said Gideon.

"If this guy is so smart, why would he risk driving his victims from the abduction site to the woods?" asked Agent Sheridan.

"Because of the ritual. It's become the most important thing to him. Dominates his thoughts. Woods provide the privacy he needs." said Gideon.

"The Hollow Man is motivated by external pressures. This is a guy who simply wants attention. The Mill Creek killer, on the other hand, he's driven by internal forces. He's a sexually motivated offender. This makes him a lot more predictable but don't think for a second it makes him any easier to catch." said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxxx

The next day Spencer was looking at the pictures of the victims.

"So our plan to catch the Mill Creek killer was ruined by the Hollow Man?" asked Spencer.

"And now the Hollow Man's on a high. He hasn't pulled the trigger since he took two victims yesterday. Is he satisfied or is he just getting started?" asked Hotch.

"We'll find out." said JJ as she handed Hotch a newspaper.

""Hollow Man helps FBI find the Mill Creek killer's victim."" read Hotch.

"Nice. He's alerted the media and injected himself into the investigation." said Morgan.

"He's getting the attention he's been craving." said JJ.

"But if the shooter really wants to get the other guy arrested, he would've called us and not the media." said Hotch.

Morgan got up.

"He must know the Mill Creek killer needs to revisit the body." said Morgan.

"If he can't defile the woman again, it'll become so strong, it could push him into a frenzy." said Gideon.

"And if that happens, this guy is just a time bomb waiting to explode." said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was going through the newspapers while Hotch concluded a phone call with Morgan.

"Great. Thanks, Morgan." said Hotch before he hung up and looked at Spencer, "The witness got a good look at the Mill Creek killer. You know, if it's the Hollow Man's intention to force him into a frenzy, he's getting what he wants. He knew exactly where to find Meredith dale's body. He figured out the route to the dump site the same way we did." said Hotch.

"They always say serial killers make the best profilers." said Spencer.

"Yeah, but this guy's dead-on." said Hotch before he opened up another box and pulled out a few newspapers.

"Yeah. The headline doesn't mention the shooter at all." said Hotch while Spencer rubbed his eyes, "We talked to Jim Meyers, the reporter, asked him not to respond to the letter, he doesn't, and then the guy goes out and shoots two more women." said Hotch.

Spencer slipped his glasses back on.

"In a better part of town." said Spencer.

"What gives him this confidence?" asked Hotch while Spencer flipped a newspaper over, "And what's the significance of the paper at the scene? We know he wants to be newsworthy. He could've just tossed it aside." said Hotch.

Spencer noticed two familiar names causing him to grab another paper.

"Instead, he displayed it. There's something he wants us to look at. There's definitely something in the paper." said Hotch.

"I figured it out." said Spencer as he lifted up two papers.

Hotch quickly went towards his brother-in-law and crouched down a bit.

"What is it?" asked Hotch.

"They're talking in the classifieds." said Spencer as he pointed out what he found, "Sunny and Holden from "Catcher in the Rye"." said Spencer.  
Hotch clapped his brother-in-law on the shoulders.

"Good work, Reid." said Hotch before looking at his brother-in-law, "Do you think the allergic reaction from the new solution you tried out will clear up soon?" asked Hotch.

"I was told that I will probably be stuck wearing my glasses until the end of the year." said Spencer.

"At least your glasses saves you time in the morning." said Hotch.

"I know." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxx

As soon as Gideon, Morgan, and Agent Sheridan returned Spencer and Hotch ended up telling the three agents what Spencer found.

"Classifieds, code names. This feels like an old spy movie." said Agent Sheridan.

"It's low-tech, simple, but very effective. They've been doing this for months, and nobody ever knew it." said Morgan.

"This is the first one that I found. The references are what made me suspicious." said Spencer as he used the remote to pull up a blown up article, ""Sunny, are you an artist too? I'd love to see your work sometime. Holden."" read Spencer.

"Sunny? Holden?" asked Agent Sheridan.

"They're characters from "Catcher in the Rye"." said Hotch.

"Widely accepted as a loved book of sociopaths. Mark David Chapman quoted it after killing John Lennon." said Spencer.

"Deranged minds identify with Holden's alienation and detachment." said Hotch.

"I found the initial contact. It ran in the paper unchanged for months." said Spencer as he pulled up another article, ""We have different tastes, but I can appreciate your art. Sunny."" read Spencer.

"Sunny's the Hollow Man. He initiated contact." said Hotch.

"What's he getting out of it?" asked Agent Sheridan.

"A mentor. Offered admiration and respect. In return, he gains encouragement and confidence." said Gideon.

"But when the Hollow Man remained unnoticed by the press, he resented his mentor and turned it into a rivalry." said Hotch.

"Hollow man became jealous. They were both killers, but they weren't seen in the same playing field. What else did you find?" asked Morgan.

Spencer pulled up another article and squinted a bit.

""An overwhelming area and you never get lost?" Then the answer to this question." said Spencer as he pulled up the reply, ""I do my research. It's not so random when you know the area. I like cotton wood in SGC."" read Spencer.

"SGC? He's talking about Saltgrass Cove. He told him how to find Meredith Dale." said Morgan.

"Why?" asked Agent Sheridan.

"Teaching his student a lesson." said Gideon.

"We understand their relationship. Let's use it against them." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was sitting in a chair with a note pad on his lap while Hotch had a hand resting on the back on his chair and the other hand on the table watching him write.

"Garcia says they covered their tracks. How's it going in here?" asked Morgan.

"Reid's imitating the Hollow Man's language patterns to send a message to the Mill Creek killer. He's offering condolences on losing Meredith   
Dale." said Hotch.

"If he can't get to Meredith Dale, he's gonna need a body. He's gonna need it real soon." said Morgan.

"You guys worried that the Hollow Man's going to ruin our plan again?" asked Agent Sheridan.

"He wants the Mill Creek killer to get caught. The pupil's trying to kill the teacher." said Gideon.

JJ entered the room with Jim Meyers.

"Hope you're close, Reid." said JJ.

"You got less than an hour to meet the deadline." said Jim Meyers.

A few minutes later Spencer gave Jim Meyers the article that he written.

"This will be in tomorrow's paper." said Jim.

xxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was looking at a map of the forest when JJ came into the room with today's paper.

"What do you think? Did it sound like the Hollow Man?" asked Spencer.

"Hopefully the Mill Creek killer will buy it." said JJ as she handed Spencer the newspaper.

Spencer started to read the message he came up with.

""Dear Holden, they say imitation is the highest form of flattery. Since you were almost in harm's way, I thought I'd share some art. Should make you feel better. Here's my gift to you. Sunny."" read Spencer.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer watched the Mill Creek Killer be led to an interrogation room while being relieved that the message he wrote worked.

"I've alerted all news outlets that we'll be holding a press conference in 10 minutes." said JJ.

"And you have the script?" asked Gideon.

"Right here." said JJ.

"Be sure to say exactly those words." said Hotch.

Spencer took a sip of his coffee.

"The wording's important, JJ." said Morgan.

JJ rolled her eyes as she thought about how protective Spencer, Morgan, Hotch, and Gideon were being since Elle left.

"Relax. It's not my first party, boys." said JJ.

"Gideon, we don't have much on Mill Creek, especially if he says he stumbled on the body." said Hotch.

"So what are we going to do?" asked Spencer.

"I'll go try and do my job." said Gideon.

xxxxxx

Later on that evening JJ showed her teammates the faxed newspaper article that her contact sent her.

"This is the story for tomorrow." said JJ as she passed the paper to Morgan.

"They were our daughters, sisters, brothers, and friends."" read Morgan before he passed it to Gideon.

"They have every right to be remembered... And memorialized." said Gideon before he passed it to Spencer.

Spencer held the paper close to his eyes since he didn't have his glasses on or contacts in.

"They didn't mention the shooter." said Spencer before passing the article to his brother-in-law.

"He was a nobody who wanted to be somebody by killing people and they didn't give him that. Good." said Hotch.

xxxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer and Clarissa were making love in their bed to celebrate Spencer coming home after four days away.

xxxxxxxxx

The next morning at 6 AM Spencer entered Diana's bedroom, and a few seconds later he was sitting on Diana's bed stroking Diana's hair.

Diana opened her eyes, and she blearily saw her daddy.

"Daddy?" asked Diana.

"I'm home, bumble bee." said Spencer as he helped his little girl put on her glasses.

A few seconds later Diana was giving her daddy a big bear hug.

"I missed you, daddy." said Diana.

Spencer hugged his daughter.

"I missed you too, bumble bee." said Spencer.

"You stay home today?" asked Diana.

"I have to go do paperwork." said Spencer.

Diana pouted causing Spencer to chuckle.

"I'll be having four days off for Thanksgiving, so we will get to spend a lot of time together." said Spencer.

"Mommy too?" asked Diana.

"Mommy too since mommy and I will be celebrating six years of friendship and four years of marriage." said Spencer.

"10 years?" asked Diana.

Spencer shook his head.

"I met mommy on November 30th of 2000, and I married her two years later on November 30th of 2002." said Spencer.

"Oh." said Diana as her stomach growled.

"Let's get you dressed so we can eat breakfast before mommy and I have to head to work." said Spencer as he swooped up his daughter.

xxxxxxxxxx

15 minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, and Lucy were eating their breakfast together while Spencer listened to Diana tell him about what she did while he was away.


	43. Anniversaries & Sex, Birth, & Death

Spencer and Clarissa were sitting on their hotel bed with four boxes in front of them.

"How about we open up our gifts that deals with our six year anniversary of friendship." said Clarissa.

"OK." said Spencer.

A few seconds later Spencer and Clarissa were both opening their gifts, and Clarissa laughed when she saw a big bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

"Thank you." said Clarissa.

"Your welcome." said Spencer.

"Open up your gift." said Clarissa.

Spencer opened up his gift, and he laughed when he saw a bag of sugar.

"You decided to give me sugar instead of candy?" laughed Spencer.

"Yes." said Clarissa.

"So I take it that we'll save getting each other gifts that deals with iron until our six year wedding anniversary?" asked Spencer.

"I think we should." said Clarissa.

"I guess its time to open up our fourth anniversary gifts." said Spencer as he passed Clarissa his gift.

A few seconds later Clarissa was admiring her new silk scarf.

"Its beautiful." said Clarissa.

"I'm glad you love it." said Spencer.

"I hope you love my gift." said Clarissa as she handed Spencer a big package, and a minute later Spencer was staring at his new navy blue military style pea coat.

"Even though the traditional gifts for a four year wedding anniversary is linen or silk, I decided to get you a new winter jacket." said Clarissa.

"Its OK." said Spencer.

"Do you love it?" asked Clarissa.

"I do since I've been thinking about buying a new winter coat." said Spencer.

"Please try it on." said Clarissa.

Spencer got off the bed and slipped on the jacket, and a few seconds later Clarissa looked at her husband.

"I'm glad I got this jacket for you because it looks sexy on you." smirked Clarissa.

Spencer groaned as he felt his dress pants start to tighten causing Clarissa to smirk.

"There's one last gift for you to open up, so please remove my dress." smirked Clarissa.

A minute later Spencer was groaning at Clarissa's new silk lingerie.

xxxxxxx

Two weeks later Spencer was hurrying up the stairs at the subway station while bumping into a man.

"I'm sorry." said Spencer before hurrying up the stairs just as a teenage boy stopped him.

"You're Dr. Reid." said a teenage boy.

Spencer looked at the boy and wondered if he was one of Clarissa's past patients.

"I'm sorry. Do I know you?" asked Spencer.

"I just know what you do." said the boy.

"OK." said Spencer before turning around before the teenager stopped him.

"I saw you in Georgetown a few weeks ago. You gave a lecture on sexual sadism and how you helped catch the Mill Creek Killer in St. Louis." said   
the boy.

"I- I'm not much of a, uh- a public speaker." said Spencer.

"I don't know. I thought you seemed cool." said the boy.

Spencer looked at the teenager and wondered if he was a fellow child prodigy.

"You look kind of young to go to Georgetown." stated Spencer.

"Um, I'm a junior at Northwest High School." said the boy.

"And you just go to lectures on anger excitation for fun?" asked Spencer.

"I don't have a lot of friends." said the boy.

"So you're interested in profiling?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah. I mean, I read a lot, you know, true crime, like graphic novels, mostly. They're all about whether there's really such a thing as evil, like nature versus nurture, all that, so I figured it'd be smart to hear it from an expert, you know? So you said a lot of 'em kill prostitutes?" asked the boy.

"It's the number one serial killer target, actually." stated Spencer.

"Well, is that for sex or because they think they're dirty and they need to be punished?" asked the boy.

Spencer instantly became alert causing him to become serious.

"Were you waiting here for me?" asked Spencer.

"What would it mean if somebody were stabbing them and cutting off their hair?" asked the boy.

"I've never, uh- I've never heard of a case like that." said Spencer before making a decision, "Do you wanna go to the BAU with me, maybe talk to some of my other team members?" asked Spencer.

"I actually have to go to school." said the boy before heading down the stairs.

Spencer started chasing after the boy.

"Give me your-your name and your number, and I'll call you and." said Spencer before giving up so he could get to work.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer hurried out of the elevator as he sketched the teenage boy in one of his notebooks when JJ approached him.

"Hey, Spence." said JJ.

"JJ, who's your contact at the DC Police?" asked Spencer as he hurried towards a phone.

JJ quickly followed Spencer.

"Uh, Victor Barnes. Why? You need me to call him?" asked JJ.

Spencer quickly dialed the number for one of DC's police stations before getting onto the phone with someone.

"Hi. Detective Barnes, please." said Spencer just as Gideon approached them.

"What's wrong?" asked Gideon.

Spencer pointed at his drawing of the teenage boy.

"Need to get that to everyone as soon as possible." said Spencer before hearing Detective Barnes speak, "Uh, hi. Detective Barnes, this is Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid at the Behavioral Analysis Unit at Quantico. Have you had any recent murders involving prostitutes, maybe just Jane Does?" asked Spencer.

"What do you mean, Dr. Reid?" asked Detective Barnes.

"They would have been stabbed to death, and their hair would've been cut off by the killer." said Spencer.

"I know what your talking about." said Detective Barnes.

"When was the most recent victim?" asked Spencer.

"Four days ago, but why are you asking?" asked Detective Barnes.

"I'll explain when I see you. I'll meet you in a half hour." said Spencer before hanging up.

"What's going on?" asked Gideon.

"DC may have a serial killer. I think I just let him get away." said Spencer before explaining about his encounter at the subway station.

xxxxxx

Over a half hour later Spencer arrived at the morgue with Gideon when Detective Barnes showed them the woman that was found.

"We found her 4 days ago in an ally off "K" street. Still no ID." said Detective Barnes just as Hotch came into the room.

"Hey. Just got your message." said Hotch before seeing a guilty look on his brother-in-law's face as he grabbed latex free gloves for his brother-in -law's safety.

"Aaron Hotchner, Vic Barnes." introduced Gideon.

"Hi. What have we got?" asked Hotch.

"This is the second victim. The first one was killed three months ago, both in the early morning." said Spencer.

"Both had their hair chopped?" asked Hotch.

"Uniform didn't make the connection, because he was fixated on this." said Detective Barnes as he pulled down the sheet to show Spencer, Hotch, and Gideon what was carved on the victim's abdomen.

"The first victim didn't have anything carved on her?" asked Gideon.

"Just a routine Jane Doe." said Detective Barnes.

Gideon noticed the wounds.

"Take a look. A lot are shallow. They're hesitation marks. He's not certain he wants to be killing." said Gideon.

"Makes you think the message he carved is sincere. He's asking the police to help him stop." said Spencer.

"Fits with your kid seeking you out. Part of him wants to get caught." said Gideon.

"I let him go. I'm sorry." said Spencer.

"We'll find him." said Gideon.

"If both murders took place in the morning, how come there were no witnesses?" asked Hotch.

"The motels and alleys around the capitol are notorious. People go out of their way not to look." said Detective Barnes.

xxxxxxxxxx

As soon as Spencer, Hotch, and Gideon got back to Quantico, Garcia took Spencer to her bat cave to help him search for the teenage boy. After getting frustrated for awhile, Spencer spoke his mind.

"This is impossible." said Spencer.

"Says you." said Garcia.

"There's nothing in the juvenile offender records." said Spencer.

"So you think like a high school kid." said Garcia.

"I was 12, and I hadn't been through puberty when I was in high school." said Spencer sadly.

Garcia sighed sadly as she thought about Spencer missing out so much despite his aunt and uncle making sure that he interacted with other kids outside of school.

"OK, reset. I think like a high school student. You think like a profiler. He said he was a junior, right?" asked Garcia.

"Mm-hmm." said Spencer.

"The first rule of the teen years, when talking to an authority figure, always lie and say you're older. He's probably a sophomore." said Garcia.

"OK." said Spencer as he flashed back to his interaction with that teenage boy, "His coat was lamb's wool, but it didn't look vintage. It fit like it had been tailored for him. That means money. In DC, money would mean private school." said Spencer as he thought about him and Clarissa deciding to send Diana and any future children they have to private school due to the money they have.

"Look at you go." said Garcia.

"Even a lie has to be within the depth of your own experience, right?" asked Spencer.

"Fair enough, fair enough." said Garcia.

Spencer flashed back to the boy telling him which section of DC he lives in.

"Pull up the district that serves Northwest High. Are there any private schools within those boundaries?" asked Spencer.

Garcia quickly did some typing.

"Uh, 3." said Garcia.

Spencer thought about the college that he guest lectures for his godmother at.

"Do any of them offer elective courses at Georgetown?" asked Spencer.

"One. The Morton School." said Garcia.

"Pull up the junior class." said Spencer.

Garcia looked at Spencer.

"Ah!" said Garcia.

"Uh, sophomore class." said Spencer.

Garcia quickly pulled up the sophomore class.

"Ah, if I do say so myself." said Garcia as she started to scroll through the class.

After a few seconds Spencer recognized the teenage boy that approached him.

"Wait, wait. Stop." said Spencer.

Garcia instantly recognized the boy from Spencer's composite sketch.

"Nathan Harris." said Garcia.

"We got him." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer stood outside of Nathan's apartment with Gideon and Morgan when Nathan's mother opened the door.

"I'm Jason Gideon with the FBI. Dr. Reid. Agent Morgan. We're looking for your son Nathan." said Gideon.

"Why?" asked Dr. Harris.

"We just wanna ask him some questions." said Gideon.

"Well, not until you explain what's going on." said Dr. Harris.

"Uh, your son came to talk to me this morning about a murder case." said Spencer.

"Why would Nathan know anything about a murder?" asked Dr. Harris just as Nathan approached them.

"No, mom, it's true. I- I did talk to him. Do you mind if I speak to him alone?" asked Nathan.

"We'll stay out here, ma'am." said Gideon.

"O-OK." stuttered Dr. Harris.

Nathan led Spencer and Morgan to his bedroom, and after Morgan turned off the radio, Nathan looked at Spencer.

"I knew if you were really good, you'd find me." said Nathan.

"Is that why you were waiting for me? You-you wanted to get caught?" asked Spencer.

"What do you mean, "get caught"?" asked Nathan.

Spencer opened up Nathan's laptop a bit causing Nathan to rush towards him causing Morgan to stop Nathan so Spencer could read what Nathan wrote.

"Oh- hey. Stay right there and keep your hands where I can see them." said Morgan.

"It's just the text for a graphic novel." said Nathan.

"About killing prostitutes?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah, Jack the Ripper. It's a famous case." said Nathan.

"This isn't a game, kid." said Morgan.

"I know." said Nathan.

"You knew specific details about a murder that hasn't been publicized." said Spencer.

"But I didn't kill her. I just I really wanted to." said Nathan.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer and Morgan paced in an interrogation room that Nathan was currently sitting in with a bottle of water and a chocolate bar in front of him.

"Nathan, if you didn't do it, how did you know the details of the murder?" asked Morgan while Spencer sat down across of Nathan.

"'Cause I saw the body. It was early. It was before school. She-she was dressed in red. She'd been stabbed a lot, and her hair was all chopped off." said Nathan.

"Where was that?" asked Morgan.

"In an alley off of "K" street. They take men down there for sex. I see 'em do it all the time." said Nathan.

Spencer thought about how lucky he and Clarissa were about living in one of he suburban neighborhoods in Northwest Washington DC.

"What were you doing down there?" asked Spencer.

"I don't know. I just sort of end up there sometimes, you know? I- I stay out all night, and I just come back in the morning, and if my mom's at work, I don't even bother coming home." said Nathan.

"Why didn't you call the police?" asked Spencer.

"I don't know." said Nathan.

"Nathan, the prostitutes I talked to say you watch them." said Morgan.

"I'd never touch them." said Nathan.

"You fantasize about having sex with them?" asked Morgan.

"No, I told you, I think about killing them." said Nathan before looking at Spencer, "Look, after the lecture, I saw you at the metro stop a few times, and I thought maybe you could help me." said Nathan.

Spencer quickly made a mental note to stop taking the train so often while being thankful that neither Clarissa or Diana takes the metro with him.

"How?" asked Spencer softly.

"I don't know. I saw that body, and I felt excited, and that really scared me." said Nathan.

"Is it possible that you actually killed those prostitutes, but you just don't want to admit it to yourself?" asked Morgan.

"No." said Nathan.

"Then why'd you run away from me?" asked Spencer.

"'Cause I don't know, but I thought you'd say I was crazy and there was no way to stop it." said Nathan.

Spencer and Morgan exchanged glances.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer and Morgan approached Gideon and Dr. Harris.

"Ma'am, we'd like to let the juvenile authorities hold him overnight so we can do a psychological evaluation." said Morgan.

"I can't believe this is real." said Dr. Harris.

"Well, right now it's just an evaluation. I'd encourage Nathan to have a lawyer present." said Gideon.

"I don't know what he's going through, but the Nathan I know is a sweet boy." said Dr. Harris.

"I believe you." said Spencer softly as he thought about his sweet girl who was currently asleep in her own bed.

"Do we have your permission?" asked Gideon.

"I'll show you where to sign the paperwork." said Spencer as he led Dr. Harris away.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was standing by his desk while Garcia sat on top of his desk when Nathan approached him.

"Dr. Reid." said Nathan.

"Yeah?" asked Spencer.

"I know I, um, don't deserve any favors, but whatever my psych eval says, you promise you'll tell me the truth?" asked Nathan.

Spencer nodded.

"Um, my mom says a promise doesn't count unless you say it out loud." said Nathan.

Spencer chuckled a bit.

"I promise." said Spencer.

"OK. Thank you." said Nathan before he was led away by two officers.

Garcia looked at Spencer.

"You know, he might have killed two women. It's not your job to hold his hand through this." said Garcia.

"It's like with my aunt Elena. I used to think that if I could just understand absolutely everything there is to know about schizophrenia, then I'd somehow be able to fix it." said Spencer.

Garcia gave Spencer a sad look as she thought about how he lost his parents and eventually his adoptive parents.

"You can't. I'm sorry." said Garcia just as Hotch approached them.

"Guys. I need everybody in the conference room. If Nathan Harris isn't our unsub, we need a working profile." said Hotch before walking away.

Garcia looked at Spencer as she kissed two of her fingers and pressed her fingers against Spencer's forehead causing Spencer to smile a bit.

A few minutes later JJ looked at her teammates as she showed everyone the pictures that she was sent.

"DC police sent us these photos of the first victim." said JJ.

"This was the unsub's first kill. He held his urges in check for three months, and when he couldn't control them any more, he sent this message to the cops. We know the "help" and the hesitation marks mean he was ambivalent about the kill. What we don't know is why he chopped the hair." said Hotch as another crime scene photo showed on the monitor.

"He didn't take it with him. We know it's not a trophy." said Morgan.

"It's probably a way to minimize some of their power, robs them of their femininity." said Gideon.

"That fits with him killing during the early morning. It's the time when prostitutes have the least power sexually, as opposed to at night, when he might see them as being on the prowl." said Spencer.

"Hey, I know we're just spit balling this here, but this profile points to Nathan Harris." said Emily.

Hotch noticed a look on his brother-in-law's face.

"I don't wanna talk about Nathan Harris." said Hotch.

"Hotch, she is right. He reached out for help. This is an adolescent kid. He's probably intimidated sexually. I don't care how many times he says he didn't do it. He knew about the last victim, and he admitted to getting off on seeing her dead." said Morgan.

"We've got Nathan Harris. It doesn't do us any good to talk about him now. I just wanna make sure that if it's not him, we stay on top of thing before it takes on a life of its own." said Hotch.

"All right, all right, all right. We know our unsub is a sexual sadist." said Gideon.

Spencer pulled out a chair and leaned forward on it.

"The symbolism of stabbing them probably means he's impotent." said Emily.

"The only way he can get off is by killing." said Morgan.

"Considering that cutting their hair and killing during the early morning both stem from feeling powerless, there's a chance his pathology's more than sexual." said Spencer.

"What do you mean?" asked JJ.

"This is DC. Power's the most important commodity. Maybe this guy feels impotent in his professional life as well." said Spencer.

"But why these particular women?" asked Morgan.

"Simplest answer is that he has access." said Spencer.

"Well, Northwest DC has 3 major hubs of prostitution near Florida avenue; off Logan circle; and McPherson Square, where the victims were found." said JJ as she showed a map.

"Probably works in or around Capitol Hill." said Gideon.

"Well, I'll go back out on the street in the morning and see if any of these women know someone who fits that description." said Emily.

Hotch looked at his watch.

"Good. It's late. Let's go home." said Hotch.

JJ stood up and looked at Hotch.

"Um, shouldn't we get word out to the papers?" asked JJ.

"Not yet." said Hotch.

"Well, it's not too late to make the morning edition." said JJ.

"I said no." said Hotch before looking at his brother-in-law, "I'll give you a ride home so you don't have to take the train this late." said Hotch.

"OK." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxx

10 minutes later Spencer was in the front seat of Hotch's car, and after being on the road for 15 minutes, Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Morgan told me that Nathan has been watching you at the metro station for a couple of weeks." said Hotch.

"I know, and luckily Clarissa and Diana never go on public transportation with me." said Spencer.

"Instead of taking the train to work, I'll be glad to give you rides on mornings that I don't have meetings since I already give you rides home when it comes to working this late." said Hotch.

"I'm going to take your offer because the next time someone who I never met before approaches me and says my name could be someone who's been paid to go after me by someone I helped put away." said Spencer.

"That's why I think you should start taking the train less." said Hotch.

xxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer stood at the latest crime scene while Emily was crouching down by Holly's body.

"It says failure." said Emily before checking Holly's ID, "She was only 16." said an angry Emily as she stood up.

Spencer instantly thought about his little girl who was safe with her nanny.

"He's getting angrier and blaming the police for not stopping his impulses." said Hotch.

"Certainly not cooling of between kills anymore." said Morgan.

"Which means we are looking at whole lot bodies." said Morgan.

"Meanwhile in two days Congresswoman Styer is gonna stand at the Capitol and declared DC crime-free." said Hotch.

Emily looked at Hotch.

"What did she want with you the other day anyway?" asked Emily.

"It was a private conversation." said Hotch.

"Right, Of course. I'm sorry." said Emily.

"I guess we know Nathan Harris is not our unsub." said Morgan.

"Should we call Gideon and tell him not to bother with eval?" asked Emily.

"No, he wants to understand what's happening to him... He deserves to know." said Spencer before looking at Emily, "I didn't know about who killed my parents until I turned 18, and I had to ask my uncle Gordon who decided that I was ready to find out." said Spencer.

"Your parents are dead?" asked Emily.

"They died when I was four causing my mom's older brother and his wife to adopt me." said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "Over six years ago my aunt and uncle were killed by a family member of a man that my uncle ended up doing a kill shot on, and the police officers that worked under my uncle decided that I had the right to know." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer watched Emily walk out of Hotch's office before he stood in the doorway of Gideon's office.

"Have you reached a conclusion about Nathan Harris yet?" asked Spencer.

"Profiles and evaluations are an inexact science." said Gideon.

"But your professional opinion?" asked Spencer.

"Not a question of whether he ends up killing someone. It's when." said Gideon.

Spencer walked away while thinking about Gideon's professional opinion of Nathan.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that evening Spencer was sitting in the front passenger seat of an SUV as he and Morgan searched for Nathan.

"He's gotta be out here, right? Where else would he be?" asked Spencer.

"I still can't believe his mother's not out here searching for him." said Morgan.

"I told her it'd be better if she waited for him at home." said Spencer.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Reid, you know this is not your responsibility." said Morgan.

"It is. I can't explain." said Spencer.

"Well, try me." said Morgan.

"He knows I understand him." said Spencer.

"Of course you do. You're a profiler." said Morgan.

"It's more than that." said Spencer.

"How?" asked Morgan.

"I know what it's like to be afraid of your own mind." said Spencer softly.

Morgan looked at Spencer while thinking back to Spencer confessing to him about having Asperger's syndrome.

"Having Asperger's syndrome shouldn't make you afraid of your own mind." said Morgan.

Spencer shook his head.

"There are times that geniuses become mentally ill even if they never had a family history of mental illness." said Spencer before deciding to lighten things up a bit, "What's up with Hotch today?" asked Spencer.

Morgan laughed a bit.

"I don't know. Maybe he tied that knot in his tie a little too tight again." joked Morgan.

Both Spencer and Morgan laughed before Morgan's cellphone rang.

"Yeah. OK. We're on our way." said Morgan before hanging up and looked at Spencer, "They just found a body." said Morgan before turning around.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer and Morgan looked at the latest body.

"I'd say he's getting bolder." said Morgan.

Gideon looked at Spencer and Morgan.

"If it's the same unsub." said Gideon.

"Think it could've been Nathan?" asked Spencer.

"This kill was fast and messy." said Gideon.

"There's no cut hair, no message carved." said Morgan.

"Not to mention killing at night. None of it's our unsub's signature." said Gideon just as an officer approached them.

"Excuse me, agent. They found the boy you're looking for." said the officer.

Spencer and Morgan quickly followed the officer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer and Morgan entered a church when an officer approached them.

"Says he's been here 4 hours." said an officer.

Spencer made his way to Nathan and joined Nathan on the pew.

"Got a lot of people worried." said Spencer.

"Sorry." said Nathan.

"Told that policeman that you've been here four hours?" asked Spencer.

"I snuck out, and I started walking, like I couldn't control it, so I figured I'd come here and try and fight it." said Nathan.

"Has anybody seen you here?" asked Spencer.

"Doesn't matter, anyway." said Nathan softly.

"It does matter, Nathan. A woman was stabbed tonight, and nobody saw you. I'm gonna have to bring you in as a suspect." said Spencer.

"You gonna cuff me?" asked Nathan.

Spencer looked up at Morgan who grabbed his handcuffs and passed them to Spencer who started standing up.

"Let's go." whispered Spencer.

Nathan stood up and allowed Spencer to handcuff him.

"Do you wanna know what I've been doing all night?" asked Nathan.

"Hmm?" asked Spencer as he continued to handcuff Nathan.

"Just been sitting here, thinking the only way for me to save people's lives in the future is to kill myself." said Nathan.

xxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer knocked on Dr. Harris's door, and a few seconds later Dr. Harris was letting Spencer into her apartment.

"What do you want?" asked Dr. Harris.

"Nathan told me last night that he was thinking about committing suicide so he doesn't harm anyone in the future." said Spencer.

Dr. Harris quickly sat down and looked at Spencer.

"He really said that?" asked Dr. Harris.

"He did, and I'm not lying since I have a court certified eidetic memory." said Spencer.

"If it turns out that he didn't kill that woman last night, I'm already been planning on committing him myself." said Dr. Harris as she showed Spencer what she found.

When Spencer was done going through the magazine, he looked at Dr. Harris.

"How often do you work with adolescent patients at Children's National?" asked Spencer.

"I help out there two times a week." said Dr. Harris.

"Ever heard of one of their nurses Clarissa Reid?" asked Spencer.

"I've met her before, and she's one of the sweetest young woman I've ever worked with." said Dr. Harris before looking at Spencer, "With her last name being Reid, is she related to you?" asked Dr. Harris.

"She's my wife. Other than being devoted to her patients, she's a wonderful mother to our nearly three-year-old daughter. So if you can't supervise Nathan tonight, there's always a place for Nathan in the inpatient psych ward at Children's National until you can put him into a hospital of your choice." said Spencer as he passed Dr. Harris a piece of paper that contained the number to his land line, "If you ever need anything you can either my wife or me on our land line" said Spencer.

"Thank you, and I can tell that your a great father since your wanting to help my son." said Dr. Harris.

Spencer smiled a bit before becoming serious.

"I still have a killer to catch, and I hope you made the right decision for your son. And if you ever bring Nathan to visit me at the BAU, you can't mention my wife at all since my marriage is being kept a secret." said Spencer before he left Dr. Harris's apartment so he could drive himself to Quantico.

xxxxxxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer and Gideon walked into the bullpen when JJ approached them.

"So Nathan's in custody?" asked JJ.

"They're holding him downtown." said Spencer.

"You really think he killed that last woman?" asked JJ as she, Spencer, and Gideon headed to the stairs that leads to the conference room.

"It's possible. But Nathan's evolving. This last kill, it feels like a devolution." said Spencer as he started to climb some stairs.

"It was sloppy and angry. Nathan's smart and directed. He's used to achieving. If he decides to kill, it'll be clinical and efficient." said Gideon.

"So where does that leave us?" asked JJ.

"Back to the profile." said Gideon.

A few minutes later Spencer was cleaning his glasses with his suit jacket while Hotch briefed everyone on the victims.

"First victim, he gets a taste for killing. Second, he asks the police to help stop him. By the third, he feels like they've failed him. He's already   
devolving. The fourth, no ritual, no message, just a brutal murder." said Hotch.

Spencer slipped his glasses back on.

"It's true that he's devolving, but this last victim definitely had a message. You don't dump a body across from the Capitol Building by accident." said Gideon.

"Especially not when a congresswoman is about to proclaim success against the crime epidemic." said Emily.

"Exactly." said Gideon.

"Guys, that press conference wasn't announced yet. Only someone with inside information would know that." said JJ.

"We profiled the unsub felt limited in his job. What's more powerless than being a bit player on the Washington stage?" asked Spencer.

"You know, if he felt like he did his part to clear the prostitutes off the street, but was never heard, he might have felt so personally betrayed that he literally had to carve his frustration out on those women." said Morgan.

"So the profile was right. We were just wrong about who the message was for." said Spencer.

"We need to get a list of anyone who advocated on behalf of that bill." said Gideon.

Hotch looked at Emily.

"Prentiss, when you went back to talk to the prostitutes, did a profile ring a bell with any of them?" asked Hotch.

"A few of them described what sounded like the same man, but when I showed them mug shots, I came up empty." said Emily.

"Let's go back to them. We're gonna need their help." said Hotch.

Morgan noticed a look on Hotch's face.

"What are you thinking about, Hotch?" asked Morgan.

"I need to get a message to Congresswoman Steyer." said Hotch before looking at JJ, "How quickly can we put together a press conference?" asked Hotch.

"How fast do you need it?" asked a smiling JJ.

xxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was in Garcia's lair with Garcia.

"The lower the group is on the Washington food chain, the better. This guy, he feels like his voice isn't being heard, and make sure to check for any advocacy groups promoting morality or values." said Spencer.

"OK, reality check. What you're looking for-needle. This-haystack." said a frazzled Garcia.

"Garcia, we don't have to find it. We just need to get to the people who can." said Spencer.

xxxxxxx

After Congresswoman Steyer told Hotch that she didn't know the man, Spencer walked forward.

"I'm gonna read you a list of groups that lobbied on behalf of your legislation. Keeping in mind the description you just heard, tell me if anyone associated with these groups could be the man we're looking for." said Spencer before he looked at the list Garcia gave him, "Uh, "The Crime Policy Institute, "The Center for Safety, Citizens' Brigade, Decency Watch." read Spencer.

"Oh, my God." said Congresswoman Steyer.

"Decency Watch?" asked Emily.

"The man who runs it." said Congresswoman Steyer.

Spencer looked at his list.

"Ronald Weems." read Spencer.

"Do you know him?" asked Hotch.

"No. I mean, yes, but he's a nobody." said Congresswoman Steyer.

"But he fits this description?" asked Emily.

"Perfectly." said Congresswoman Steyer before looking at Spencer, Hotch, and Emily, "Please get this man off our streets." said Congresswoman Steyer.

"We will since he killed a 16-year-old girl." said Emily.

xxxxxx

Later on that evening Spencer was signing his paperwork when Garcia approached him with Nathan and his mother.

"Hey, Reid." said Garcia.

Spencer got up and looked at Nathan.

"Hey." said Spencer.

"Hi." said Nathan.

"I heard the juvenile authorities let you go today. I'm sorry I wasn't there." said Spencer.

"Mm, it's all right." said Nathan.

Spencer nodded at Dr. Harris while being thankful that Nathan's mother listened to him about not leaving her son unsupervised.

"So were you there when they caught him?" asked Nathan.

"Yeah, I was." said Spencer.

"Did he say how long he knew what he was?" asked Nathan.

Spencer shook his head.

"No." said Spencer.

"Well, do you think it's possible to maybe talk to him or?" asked Nathan.

Spencer quickly interrupted.

"I'm sorry. You're not him. Who we are is-it's constantly evolving. I'm a lot older than you, and I'm changing all the time. You know, this- this job changes me. You've changed me. You sought me out to try to understand how not to harm people. It's a far more important part of who you are than the one that scares you." said Spencer.

Nathan dipped his head a little.

"My mom wants to have me go to a hospital for awhile tomorrow." said Nathan.

"Maybe that's not such a bad idea." said Spencer.

"You know, once they lock me up, they're never gonna let me out of there." said Nathan.

Spencer smiled a little bit.

"You don't know that." said Spencer.

"Whatever. I just came to say good bye." said Nathan before looking at Spencer, "Thank you for caring." said Nathan.

Dr. Harris looked at Spencer as she shook hands with Spencer.

"Thank you, Dr. Reid. If you ever need anything please don't be afraid to contact me." said Dr. Harris as she passed Spencer her card before walking away with her son.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer sat at his desk while thinking about not wanting to go home to an empty house due to Clarissa working third shift while Diana was sleeping over at his godmother's house when Garcia approached him.

"Come on. Come on, you and me, we're hitting the town." said Garcia.

"No offense, Garcia, but I'm not really feeling like I'd make the, uh, best company right now." said Spencer.

"Oh, no. Up. Up." said Garcia as she motioned Spencer to get up, "Do not make me hurt you." said Garcia.

Spencer chuckled as he got up.

"There you go." said Garcia.

A few minutes later Garcia was showing Spencer her corvette.

"Have you met Esther? You like?" asked Garcia.

"Wow." said Spencer.

"Only 150,000 miles on her." said Garcia.

"I did drive in this morning since Hotch told me the other night that I should think about taking the train in less." said Spencer as he pointed where his car currently was.

Garcia quickly noticed Spencer's car and gave Spencer an address.

"Meet me at this address in one hour or I will hurt you at work tomorrow." said Garcia.

Spencer chuckled as he headed off to his ancient Volvo while being glad that he doesn't drive Diana around in his car.

xxxxxxxxx

Over an hour later, Garcia looked at Spencer as they drank sodas while sharing a basket of fries at the bar they frequent to with their teammates.

"So what are you doing for Christmas this year?" asked Garcia.

"My godparents are staying in DC, so I'm celebrating Christmas with them." said Spencer.

"That's nice." said Garcia.

Garcia looked at Spencer.

"I have a feeling that your hiding something huge from me since you pretty much leave at five when we don't have a case." said Garcia.

Spencer kept his face neutral.

"I can't tell you anything since its classified information, and I can get in a lot of trouble if I tell you." said Spencer.

"Its OK that you can't tell me." said Garcia before she and Spencer decided to talk happy childhood memories before they headed to their respective homes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have it that the Reids and the Hotchners all live in the Forest Hills area of Northwest, Washington DC and that Spencer usually takes the train in the mornings while Hotch gives him ride homes in the evening. 
> 
> This chapter starts two weeks after the last chapter so Lessons Learned has happened, and I hope that you readers love the changes I made to Sex, Birth, and Death. I'm sorry that there's no little Diana in this chapter, but she'll be back in the next chapter.


	44. Two Birthdays and Profiler Profiled

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts the Friday after the last chapter so its December 15th.

Spencer looked at his nearly three year old daughter as he held a tray filled with breakfast.

"Go wake up mommy, bumble bee." said Spencer.

"OK, daddy." said Diana.

A few seconds later Clarissa was waking up to being given kisses from her little girl.

"Why are you up right now?" asked Clarissa.

"Happy birthday, mommy." said Diana.

At that moment Clarissa slipped on her glasses and a few seconds later she smiled when she saw her husband holding a tray filled with breakfast.

"Happy birthday, love." said Spencer as he made his way into the room and gave Clarissa a kiss.

"Thank you." said Clarissa before looking at her daughter, "We're having our joint birthday dinner tomorrow." said Clarissa.

"Why have a party for me when my birthday is six days away?" asked Diana.

"There's a chance that I might have to go away to slay another dragon on your birthday, so we decide to celebrate yours and mommy's birthday together since you were born six days after mommy's birthday." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana were enjoying breakfast in bed before Spencer and Clarissa had to get ready for work.

xxxxxxxx

Later on that evening Spencer looked at his wife as they shared a bottle of sparking grape juice.

"Remember how I asked you out six years ago today?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa smiled as she remembered the card trick that her husband did.

"Doing a card trick was a cute way to ask me out." said Clarissa.

"I know, and I can't wait to do a magic show at Children's National next week Friday." said Spencer.

"A lot of kids are looking forward to your magic show." said Clarissa.

"I know." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxx

The next day Clarissa was getting a hug from her oldest brother.

"I just can't believe that your now 25-years-old." said Hotch.

"I know, and today is one of these days that I miss mom since she never got to see me get married or meet her grandchildren." said Clarissa as she watched Diana walk around the living room while holding Jack's hand.

"She always made our birthdays special, and knowing our mom she would be watching over her grandchildren." said Hotch.

"Spencer and I always make sure that Diana knows who her grandparents are." said Clarissa.

"So with you and Spencer both being 25, should I getting news about becoming an uncle again soon?" asked Hotch as he smirked at his sister.

"We've been trying, so I'm hoping that I find out that I'll be a mother again soon." said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxx

An hour later Clarissa sat in front of the dining room table with Diana on her lap while Spencer, Hotch, Haley, Sean, Alex, James, and Lucy sang "Happy Birthday" to Clarissa and Diana. As soon as everyone stopped singing, Clarissa looked at her daughter.

"Let's blow out these candles together." said Clarissa.

"OK, mommy." said Diana.

A few seconds later Clarissa and Diana had blown out the candles together before Spencer removed the candles.

xxxxxxxx

Two days later an excited Spencer was looking at the fizzing film canister on his desk while JJ and Garcia stood over him.

"Nothing's happening." said JJ.

"Watch." said Spencer excitably.

A few seconds later the film canister shot up into the air causing both JJ and Garcia to scream while the film canister flew across the bullpen and hit Emily in the forehead.

"Ah. Ooh." groaned Emily as she rubbed her forehead while JJ and Garcia laughed, "Ah, what-." said Emily.

Spencer looked at Emily.

"I'm so sorry, Emily." said Spencer.

"What was that?" asked Emily.

Garcia who was still giggling looked at Emily.

"Don't you recognize a rocket when you see one?" asked Garcia.

"I- I was merely demonstrating a physics law I- I-I didn't meant to hit." stuttered Spencer.

Emily thought about being a nerd herself.

"Oh, show me?" asked Emily as she hurried towards Spencer's desk.

"All right." said Spencer before glancing at JJ, Emily, and Garcia. "Uh... well, turn around, please." said Spencer.

Garcia instantly turned around.

"Turn around?" asked Emily.

"Yeah, he's not gonna show you... how it's done." said JJ as she turned around.

"A magician doesn't reveal his secrets." said Spencer.

"But I thought you said it was physics?" asked Emily,

"Physics...magic." said Spencer.

"Trust me." said Garcia as she turned Emily around herself, "It will not do you any good to argue with him." said Garcia.

Spencer quickly made sure that his three female teammates weren't watching before he started to prepare his bottle rocket, and as soon as he was   
done, he looked at his three female teammates.

"All right, all right, turn back and observe." said Spencer.

JJ, Emily, and Garcia all quickly turned around, and five seconds later his little bottle rocket shot into the air causing all three women to scream.

"Oh." exclaimed Emily, JJ, and Garcia.

A few seconds later the little bottle rocket landed by Hotch's feet causing Spencer's, Emily's, JJ's, and Garcia's smiles to go away as Hotch picked up Spencer's film canister and looked at Spencer while JJ, Emily, and Garcia all either went to their desk or grab one of Spencer's files

"Physics magic?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded a bit.

"Yes, sir." said Spencer.

Hotch started walking towards his brother-in-law while seeing the puppy dog eyes that always caused him to soften up.

"Reid, we talked about this." said Hotch sternly.

"I'm sorry, sir." said Spencer.

Hotch placed the film canister on his brother-in-law's desk while looking at his brother in law with a slight twinkle in his eyes.

"Really starting to get some distance on those." said Hotch as he smiled a bit.

Spencer grinned at his brother-in-law before a smiling Hotch walked away.

"So he does have a sense of humor." said Emily.

"Sometimes." said Spencer.

"Hey, where's Morgan?" asked Emily.

"In Chicago. He goes there every year for his mother's birthday." said Spencer.

Emily nodded before looking at Spencer.

"Did you just use your eyes on Hotch to get him to soften up?" asked Emily.

"I plead the fifth." said Spencer.

JJ, Garcia, and Emily burst out laughing.

xxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer walked into a Chicago Police Department with Hotch, Gideon, Emily, and JJ.

"Special Agent Hotchner, FBI I'm looking for Detective..." said Hotch as he looked at some papers in his hands, "Gordinski." said Hotch.

Detective Dennison got up.

"I got this, Chuck." said Detective Dennison as he walked over to the BAU team, "How you guys doing. Wally Dennison, CPD." said Wally.

"Where's Agent Morgan." asked Hotch.

"Detective Gordinski's in with the suspect now." said Detective Dennison.

"I need to see him." said Hotch.

"When my partner's finished talking to him." said Detective Dennison.

"I have your superintendent's personal cell number, and in the interest of not running roughshod over another police agency I've resisted calling   
him so far I need to see Agent Morgan now." said Hotch.

"I'll get Gordinski. He's the, uh, primary." said Detective Dennison before walking away.

"I don't like them calling him a suspect." said Gideon.

"Me neither." said Hotch.

A few minutes later Detective Dennison came back with Detective Gordinski.

"Detective Gordinski, CPD." said Detective Gordinski as he shook hands with Hotch.

"You think an FBI agent, a BAU profiler committed a homicide?" asked Hotch.

"Actually, three homicides at least, over 15 years." said Detective Gordinski.

"You-you think he's a serial killer." asked JJ.

"This is ridiculous." said Spencer.

"Has he been charged with anything?" asked Hotch.

"I got 72 hours for that." said Detective Gordinski.

"I'd like to see him." said Hotch.

"Be my guest." said Detective Gordinski.

Detective Dennison looked at Hotch.

"This way." said Detective Dennison as he led Hotch away.

"Agent Gideon, right." said Detective Gordinski.

Gideon shook hands with the detective.

"Yes." said Gideon.

"I owe you a big thank you I had no suspects at all until you looked over my case for me and sent me this profile." said Detective Gordinski as he pulled out a file, "Everything in it points to that son of a bitch, Derek Morgan." said Detective Gordinski as he passed the file to Gideon.

Spencer exchanged glances with Emily and JJ while Gideon looked through the file.

"I profiled him." said a shocked Gideon.

"It's all right there." said Detective Gordinski.

"Detective, a profile's just a guide." said Spencer.

Detective Gordinski looked at Spencer.

"Yeah, this one guided me to him." said Detective Gordinski.

"They're really more useful in the elimination of suspects rather than the inclusion." said Emily.

"That's not the way you presented it to me." said Detective Gordinski.

"Well, if I confused you, I'm sorry." said Gideon.

Detective Gordinski laughed a bit.

"I'm not confused at all." said Detective Gordinski.

"Look, whatever it is in here that made you consider Agent Morgan a suspect has to be coincidence. "You can't rely solely on this." said Gideon.

"You're right, I'm not." said Detective Gordinski.

A few minutes later Spencer had removed his navy blue pea coat and sat on top of a desk when Detective Gordinski looked at Spencer, Gideon, JJ, and Emily.

"15 years ago, I was a new detective. One of my first cases was a black kid 12 or 13 years old, found strangled in a vacant lot near here." said   
Detective Gordinski.

"Boy was a John Doe, right." said Gideon.

"Still unidentified to this day." said Detective Gordinski.

"Wait, a 12-year-old kid that no one reported missing?" asked Emily.

"Ever. Four years ago, another body turns up, same MO. Worked that case just as hard, came up with just as much nothing. Nobody in the area had ever seen the kid before." said Detective Gordinski.

"No one's looking for these kids." said JJ.

"Then a few months back, I attended a seminar that you taught at CPD headquarters I told you about my case, you said to send you the files and you'd look 'em over. This is the profile you worked up." said Detective Gordinski as he took a deep breath, "There are about 3 million people in Chicago. Your profile said I was looking for a black male, 25 to 35, with a knowledge of the area. Nonthreatening to children either knows them or is normal enough that he doesn't scare them A probable criminal record. It also said the way the body was placed gently on a mattress, not just tossed on the ground, indicated someone who was probably consumed with guilt, especially for the first victim. Your exact words are- "with a guilt-ridden offender, "the BAU postulates the first victim is the most important " and the unsub may still visit the place of the crime or even the victim himself". Care to guess who visits my first victim every time he's in town." said Detective Gordinski.

"Can't be just visiting the victim. There has to be more than that." said Gideon.

"Sure. You said the unsub might try to inject himself into the investigation to keep tabs on it. Morgan has called our headquarters many times since he joined the bureau. Always about this case." said Detective Gordinski.

"So, wait, he talked to you about it." said Spencer.

"Headquarters. He'd never call me. After I got your profile, I checked airline records. Turns out Derek had just left Chicago when the other body   
turned up." said Detective Gordinski.

xxxxxxx

"Then yesterday another kid ends up dead and the last person he was with was Derek Morgan. In the boy's pocket we found one of his FBI business cards, his cell number written on the back of it. In fact, every time Morgan's in town, he hangs out with kids." said Detective Gordinski.

"This is all just coincidence." said JJ.

"A hell of a lot of coincidences." said Detective Gordinski.

"It's purely circumstantial." said Emily.

"So's a fingerprint. Did I mention that Morgan found the body in 1991 hidden way back in a vacant lot. Now, don't you teach that when a body is hard to find, the person finding it is always a suspect." said Detective Gordinski.

"There are key pieces of the profile that don't fit, detective. Uh, the age, 25 to 35, Morgan was 15 or so at the time." said Spencer.

"Also says that age is the hardest to predict, and I should never exclude someone simply because of a discrepancy with the age." said Detective Gordinski.

"What about the speculation that since he didn't managed to leave any evidence at the scene of the crime and he most likely has a criminal record or previous law enforcement knowledge. Derek wasn't even in the Bureau yet when the first body was found." said Spencer.

"He may not have had a knowledge of law enforcement but Derek Morgan definitely had a criminal record." said Detective Gordinski before walking away.

xxxxxxx

After going through the file that Detective Gordinski gave them, Gideon looked at Spencer, JJ, and Emily.

"A desperate detective here. Three dead boys, no evidence at all, so he applies the profile directly to someone he already suspected. It's easy to get tunnel vision that way." said Gideon quietly.

"One begins to twist facts to suit theories instead of theories to suit facts. That's, uh, one of Sherlock Holmes's favorite quotes." said Spencer.

"We need to figure out who really killed these boys before they decide to charge Morgan." said Gideon.

"What do you want us to do?" asked Emily.

"Last victim was someone Morgan was seen with. Conveniently, Morgan was already a suspect in the other two." said Gideon.

"Someone set him up." said Emily.

"We should consider Morgan a victim. Prentiss, you and Reid talk to his family, learn about him- especially around the time of the first murder." said Gideon.

"Do we have the address?" asked Emily.

Detective Dennison approached them.

"I can take you." said Detective Dennison.

"Oh, that's OK." said Emily.

"No. Actually, that's not a bad idea." said Gideon.

"Right. Okey-doke, lead the way, detective." said Emily.

Spencer followed Emily and Detective Dennison.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer was going through a box of Morgan's belongings when Desiree handed him a plate that contained a piece of birthday cake.

"Is, uh, Derek all right?" asked Desiree.

"He wouldn't let us go down there."said Fran.

Spencer took a bit of the piece of birthday cake that he was given while thinking about the birthday cake he consumed on Saturday.

"He's fine. Our boss is with him." said Emily.

"Did he tell you Gordinski's been harassing him since he was a kid." said Sarah.

"Why's that?" asked Spencer.

"You'd have to ask that bastard." said Sarah as she pointed at Detective Dennison.

"Oh, Sarah." said Fran.

Desiree who had her hand on her mother's shoulders spoke up.

"It's true, mom." said Desiree.

"Sure it is." said Detective Dennison.

"What are you even doing in my mother's house." demanded Sarah.

"They asked me." said Detective Dennison.

"Oh, really." said Spencer before he placed another forkful of birthday cake into his mouth.

"I don't understand how they could think he did this." said Fran.

"Someone may be trying to make it look like he hurt those kids." said Emily.

"And the police believe it?" asked Sarah.

"Just following the evidence." said Detective Dennison.

"But he's an FBI agent." said Desiree.

"Actually... law enforcement officials are just as probable statistically to commit a crime as anyone else. Look at the cross-section of a society, there's a general population and a small fraction-." said Spencer.

Emily decided to jump in.

"He's not actually saying we believe Derek's involved in this." said Emily.

"Oh, no, no, yeah, not at all I'm merely, um- speaking theoretically." said Spencer.

Desiree instantly realized who Spencer was.

"You're Dr. Reid, right?" asked Desiree.

"Mm-hm." said Spencer.

"Derek talks about you." said Sarah.

"He does?" asked Spencer.

Fran, Sarah, and Desiree all nodded as they thought about Morgan telling them about Spencer's tragic past.

"Anyway, so... someone may be trying to make it look like this was Derek." said Emily.

"But Derek loves kids." said Fran while Sarah nodded, "Every time he's here, he goes to the youth center." said Fran.

"Youth center?" asked Emily.

"The Upward Youth Center." said Fran.

"Does that have some sort of significance for him?" asked Spencer.

"Oh... are you saying there's something in it for him. Other than giving back to the poor kids of your neighborhood." said an angry Sarah.

"Sarah..." said Fran.

"Sarah, we're friends of your brother's. We're here trying to help. When we ask a question, it isn't to denigrate or demean anything he's done. We just have to know everything, so we can figure out where to look next. Is there some special significance to the youth center." said Emily.

"The youth center saved his life." said Fran.

xxxxxxxxx

Fran looked at Spencer and Emily.

"My husband, um, their father, was killed when he tried to stop a robbery. Derek was with him, he was ten. A year or so later, he started getting into trouble." said Fran.

"What kind of trouble?" asked Emily.

"He started running around with older kids. They would give him money to run errands for them. Not drugs. No, Derek would never disgrace his father's name." said Fran.

"But they were gangbangers. So people started looking at Derek like he was one of them." said Sarah.

"One night, he and a friend were attacked by some boys from another gang. Big fight. And one of the other boy's head split open." said Fran.

"And that was the first time Gordinski arrested him. Now, he wasn't a detective yet, just a street cop, but from that night on, no matter what happened in the neighborhood, he'd pick Derek up for it." said Sarah.

"Probably because he was involved." said Detective Dennison.

"The hell he was." said Sarah.

Detective Dennison stood up.

"Stan's never arrested anyone who didn't need arresting." said Detective Dennison.

"He did with Derek." said Sarah.

"Until Carl Buford stepped in." said Fran.

"Carl Buford?" asked Spencer.

"He runs a youth center." said Detective Dennison.

"He took Derek under his wing. Mentored him. Became like a surrogate father. He taught him football and that changed Derek's life. He got a scholarship to college, with it he got his degree." said Fran.

"Where is Carl Buford now?" asked Emily.

"He still runs the youth center." said Detective Dennison.

Emily stood up.

"I'd like to talk to him." said Emily before looking at Detective Dennison, "Detective, do you think you could take me over there." said Emily.

"Just you?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah I thought maybe you could stay here and keep going through this stuff." said Emily.

"Good idea. Yeah, keep going through the stuff." muttered Spencer.

A few minutes later Fran looked at Spencer.

"Derek told me that your an orphan," said Fran.

"I lost my biological parents to a drunk driver when I was four and I was 19 when my aunt and uncle who adopted me was killed by a family member of a suspect my uncle who was a police officer did a kill shot on," said Spencer.

"Did anyone help you after the deaths of your aunt and uncle?" asked Fran.

Spencer looked at Fran, Sarah, and Desiree.

"What I tell you ladies must be kept a secret." said Spencer.

All three ladies nodded in agreement.

"Two days after the deaths of my aunt and uncle I was sitting on a bench in New Haven when our unit chief's little sister Clarissa Hotchner approached me and started talking to me before insisting that I join her and Hotch for lunch causing me to become friends with Clarissa before becoming lovers." said Spencer.

"Are you still with Clarissa?" asked Fran.

Spencer reached into his shirt and pulled out a wedding band causing all three ladies to gasp.

"Been married to Clarissa for over four years." smiled Spencer before becoming serious, "I'm under orders to keep my marriage to my boss's little sister a secret." said Spencer as he placed his wedding band back into its hiding place.

"Why?" asked Sarah.

"A few higher ups, Hotch, Gideon, and I were nervous about finding out how agents who have been wanting to get into the BAU would react to a 22-year-old genius ending up on the same team as his brother-in-law who's now our unit chief." said Spencer.

"Makes sense since Derek told us that you guys had a teammate who didn't like it that someone as young as you made the team." said Sarah.

Fran looked at Spencer.

"Have any kids with your wife?" asked Fran.

Spencer smiled a bit.

"I have a daughter who will be three in two days." said Spencer.

"Your little girl must be one of your favorite Christmas gifts." said Sarah.

"She is." said Spencer.

"Please show us a picture of your little girl." said Fran.

A few seconds later Spencer was showing Fran and her daughters a picture of him, Clarissa, and little Diana together causing all three women to coo at the sight of the nearly three-year-old girl on his lap.

"She's so beautiful." said Desiree as she took in the sight of a little girl who had her mother's blue eyes while having her father's curly brown hair.

"What's her name?" asked Fran.

"Diana after my biological mother, and this picture was taken on Saturday since we had a joint birthday dinner for Clarissa and Diana since Clarissa's birthday was on Friday." said Spencer.

"Such a beautiful name." said Fran before looking at Spencer, "Are you and Clarissa going to have another child soon?" asked Fran.

"We've been trying for our second child." said Spencer.

"What does Clarissa do for work?" asked Sarah.

"She's a pediatric nurse at Children's National." said Spencer.

"Then you really married someone who loves working with children." said Fran.

"I know, and I enjoy giving magic shows to hospitalized children at Children's National." said Spencer.

xxxxxxx

A couple of hours later Spencer was standing with Hotch, Emily, and Gideon when JJ walked over.

"They're beyond reason. We have to find hm first." said JJ.

"Any ideas?" asked Gideon.

"His mother said that Buford practically raised him after his father died, he mentored him, took him on trips, spent all of his time with him. Basically became a surrogate father." said Emily.

Hotch instantly realized what possibly happened to Morgan.

"Jason, I think I know what he was afraid we'd find. Detective, we may know where he's heading." said Hotch before hurrying away.

xxxxxxx

Two days later Spencer and Clarissa smiled when they saw their little girl wake up.

"Its time to wake up, Diana." said Spencer.

Diana opened her eyes, and a few seconds later her daddy was helping her put on her glasses.

"Hi, daddy." said Diana before looking at her mommy, "Hi, mommy." said Diana.

"Happy birthday, bumble bee." said Spencer as he hugged and kissed his daughter.

"Happy birthday, sweet pea." said Clarissa.

"Auntie Elle sent you a gift that she wants you to open today." said Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Diana before her stomach growled.

"Let's eat breakfast first." said Spencer as he got up and lifted his daughter out of bed.

10 minutes later the little family of three and Lucy were eating breakfast together before Diana opened up her birthday gift from Elle.

xxxxxxx

The next evening Diana sat on her mommy's lap as she watched her daddy give a magic show to sick children.

"When will daddy show me how to do magic tricks?" asked Diana.

"You really want daddy to teach you now?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes, mommy." said Diana.

"We'll ask him after the party." said Clarissa just as her husband nodded at her, "Its time to help daddy play the piano for Christmas carols." said Clarissa.

"Yay!" cheered Diana as she thought about how fast she has been picking up the piano.

A few seconds later Clarissa became queasy when a family member of a patient walked past her with a cup of coffee and a sandwich causing Clarissa to inwardly smile as she made a mental note to stop at the store when Spencer took Diana out to look at the Christmas lights.

xxxxxxx

Three hours later Clarissa was in the bathroom waiting for her timer to go off, and a few minutes later Clarissa let out a yell of victory causing Lucy to run upstairs and burst into the bathroom.

"What's wrong?" asked Lucy.

Clarissa showed Lucy what she was looking at before Lucy rested a hand on Clarissa's still flat belly.

"How long do you think you are?" asked Lucy.

"Based on the last time I had my period, I was ovulating on the night that you offered to have Diana sleepover in your cottage." smirked Clarissa.

"So your nearly five weeks." said Lucy.

"I'll be five weeks on Sunday, and I'm planning on telling Spencer on Christmas Day." said Clarissa.

"Your secret is safe with me, and I can't wait to take care of another child." said Lucy as she gave Clarissa a gentle hug.

"I'll have to wait until Tuesday to see my gynecologist, but I'm excited about being a mother again." grinned Clarissa.

xxxxxx

Three days later Clarissa passed a small box to her husband who opened it and his eyes went wide when he saw a positive pregnancy test.

"How long?" asked Spencer quietly.

"The night before you went to Seattle." smiled Clarissa.

Spencer quickly did the math before pulling his wife into a kiss, and after they broke out of their kiss, Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Let's keep this a secret for a bit longer because I'm only five weeks along, and I want to wait until I'm eight weeks to tell Aaron, Sean, and Haley." said Clarissa.

"OK." said Spencer.

"And we can tell Diana with a Valentine during Valentines Day." said Clarissa.

"OK." said Spencer just as Diana came down the stairs to show off the new dress that Lucy made her.

"Look at my new dress." said Diana as she twirled around.

Spencer smiled at his three-year-old daughter.

"You are beautiful, Diana." said Spencer.

"Thank you, daddy." said Diana.

Clarissa looked at her husband who was already dressed for church.

"We should get going to church." said Clarissa.

Diana thought about how they went the day before on Christmas Eve morning.

"Do I have to go to church again, mommy?" asked Diana as she looked at all of her toys that she received from her mommy, daddy, uncle Aaron, auntie Haley, uncle Sean, grandma Alex, grandpa James, Lucy, and Santa.

"Yes you do, sweet pea." said Clarissa.

"When we get back we'll play with your new toys some more." said Spencer.

"OK." sighed Diana.

A few minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, and Lucy were loading themselves up into Clarissa's SUV so Spencer could drive them to church.

xxxxxxxxx

A week later Spencer and Clarissa were kissing each other at midnight wondering what the year 2007 will bring to them.


	45. No Way Out Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clarissa's eight weeks pregnant in this chapter, and only two more chapters after this one until I start posting the in-progress sequel.

Spencer woke up to Clarissa running to the bathroom, and a few seconds later Spencer was holding Clarissa's hair back as his wife vomited. As soon as Clarissa was done vomiting, she was brushing her teeth.

"Only a few more weeks until morning sickness is done." muttered Clarissa as soon as she was done brushing her teeth.

"At least I won't be missing five months of this pregnancy, like I did when you were pregnant with Diana." said Spencer as they exited the master bathroom.

"I'm glad about that too." said Clarissa before looking at her husband, "We might as well start getting ready for church." said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were getting into their Sunday best before they woke Diana up to get her ready for church.

xxxxxxxxxx

30 minutes later the Reid family and Lucy were sitting down for breakfast when Diana looked at her mommy.

"Do you have a baby in your tummy?" asked Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa looked at each other in shock as they thought about Diana inheriting Spencer's intelligence.

"I'm eight weeks pregnant with your little brother or sister." said Clarissa.

"Yay!" cheered Diana.

"How did you know?" asked Spencer.

"I smart like you, daddy." said Diana.

"Yes you are, bumble bee." said Spencer.

"When is my brother or sister coming?" asked Diana.

"You won't meet your little brother or sister for another 32 weeks." said Clarissa.

"That's a long time." said Diana.

"It is, and you were in my tummy for a total of 38 weeks." said Clarissa.

"Wow." said Diana.

"When your little brother or sister is born, you won't be able to play with him or her for awhile since the baby will be too small to play with." said Spencer before smiling a bit, "But as your little brother or sister gets bigger, he or she will love to play with you." said Spencer.

"OK." said Diana before looking at her parents, "Will you two love me when my little brother or sister comes?" asked Diana.

"I'll love you and your sibling equally." said Spencer.

Diana looked at her mommy.

"You too, mommy?" asked Diana.

"Me too, Diana." said Clarissa.

Lucy looked at Diana.

"And when your mommy and daddy are working, you can help me take care of your little brother or sister when your not at preschool." said Lucy.

"When am I going to preschool?" asked Diana.

"Not until September." said Spencer.

xxxxxxx

Later on that evening Spencer looked at his brother-in-law and Haley.

"Clarissa will be down soon with Diana." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Clarissa came down the stairs with Diana, and a few seconds later Hotch and Haley were gasping at Diana's shirt that said I'M A BIG SISTER.

"Really?" asked Hotch.

"I'm eight weeks pregnant, Aaron." smiled Clarissa.

Hotch gently hugged his sister while Haley pulled Spencer into a hug.

"Congratulations." said Haley.

"Thank you." said Spencer.

As soon as Haley released Spencer, Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"Do you think it would be an issue for me to come in late since Clarissa has eight week ultrasound tomorrow morning at 7?" asked Spencer.

"Not at all." said Hotch.

Clarissa looked at her brother and her sister-in-law.

"Are you two going to make us an aunt and uncle again?" asked Clarissa.

Haley shook her head.

"With how the third trimester was difficult for me, we agreed on just Jack." said Haley.

"Hopefully Sean will settle down because I really want to become an auntie again." said Clarissa.

Hotch looked at his sister.

"I doubt that Sean isn't the type to settle down, get married, and start families like us." said Hotch.

"Will we tell uncle Sean that I'm a big sister?" asked Diana.

Clarissa looked at her daughter.

"Maybe you, daddy, and I can go visit uncle Sean sometime next month and tell him the news." said Clarissa.

"OK." beamed Diana.

xxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer held Clarissa's hand as Dr. Larson squeezed some warm gel onto Clarissa's eight week baby bump.

"There's your baby." said Dr. Larson as he pointed to the fetus that was on the monitor.

xxxxxx

When Dr. Larson was finished he looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"Do you have any pictures of Diana to show me?" asked Dr. Larson.

"We sure do." said Clarissa as she pulled out her phone.

Dr. Larson looked at the photos of Diana.

"I can't believe that Diana's already three-years-old." said Dr. Larson.

"We know, and she's going to be a great big sister." said Spencer.

"So when are you going to tell her?" asked Dr. Larson.

"She already asked us yesterday." said Spencer.

"Seems like she's taking after you, Spencer." said Dr. Larson.

xxxxxx

Over an hour later Morgan looked at Spencer.

"So why are you late this morning?" asked Morgan.

"I had a doctor appointment, so Hotch gave me permission to come in late." said Spencer.

"Everything good?" asked Morgan.

Spencer nodded as he dived into his stack of consults.

xxxxx

A half hour later Spencer was in the conference room with his teammates looking at a crime scene photo.

"1996. The ribcage of a male was found in the Desert Rose National park. It was never identified. This morning, the remains of two victims were found in almost exactly the same area." said JJ.

"Well, one year later is cause for concern, but 10 years? That could be a coincidence." said Emily.

Spencer placed an open file onto the table.

"It would be... If the unidentified male wasn't missing a right rib bone." said Spencer.

"And the torso found this morning is missing exactly the same bone." said Hotch.

"Both of them seem to be surgically removed, and the advanced rate of decomposition on the male means that he died far before the female." said Spencer.

JJ pulled up another picture.

"Oh, Katherine Hale. They found a bracelet on her wrist. She ran away about two weeks ago from her small Colorado town." said JJ.

"Unsub's crossing state lines. He's mobile." said Hotch just as Gideon came into the room with a box.

"If the remains are related to the same killer, where's he been for 10 years?" asked Morgan.

Gideon placed the box onto the table and opened it.

"Killing. Unsolved case files going back 30 years. Every case, the victimology is the same. The unwanted. This box is just the tip of the iceberg. 13  
cases spanning 30 years. Same MO right rib bone is missing. It's him, Hotch. It's the same killer." said Gideon as everyone went through the files.

"All the remains were dumped in remote areas and always near Interstate 80. And up till now, no remains this intact or this close to the actual time of kill have been found." said Hotch.

"Never two victims dumped at the same time in the same place." said Gideon.

"All of these killings the work of just one man?" asked Emily.

"The most prolific serial killer ever." said Gideon.

A few minutes later Spencer was in the bathroom sending Clarissa a text message.

GOING TO GOLCONDA, NEVADA. I PROMISE TO STAY SAFE, AND I LOVE YOU, DIANA, AND OUR UNBORN CHILD. ~ SR

xxxxxxxx

Spencer and Emily flashed their badges to the receptionist at the Golconda Police Department.

"Is it just me, or do you get the feeling that we're not welcome here." said Spencer.

"Oh, it's not us. It's what we represent. Government's not all that popular out here." said Emily as she clipped her ID to her jacket just as an officer was dragging a woman out of a room.

"No! No, you can't make me go! I know what my rights are! No, don't make me go! No, I don't want to go home! I know my rights! Come on! What are you looking at, princess?!" shouted the woman as she looked at Emily before pushing the officer away.

"OK, OK! If that's the way you want it, Jane, back to jail." said an officer.

"OK, OK, OK. OK, OK, OK." said Jane before grabbing the lapels of Spencer's suit jacket, "He's coming. He's coming back, and there's nothing you can do about it! Do you hear me?! Nothing, nothing!" shouted Jane as an officer pulled her away.

"Come on, Jane! Come on!" said the officer as he dragged Jane away.

Emily noticed something on the floor.

"Excuse me. She dropped this." said Emily.

The officer declined.

"It's harmless." said Emily.

Jane took the whistle while holding onto Emily's wrist.

"Thank you." said Jane.

"What is it?" asked Emily.

Jane blew the whistle.

"A psycho with a whistle. That's not too weird." said Spencer.

xxxxxxx

Spencer pulled a piece of paper out of a printer.

"Early toxicological investigations of the victim's blood indicated high levels of ketamine." said Spencer as he passed the report to his brother-in-law.

"Ketamine is primarily a horse tranquilizer. It's also used as a date-rape drug. In street lingo, it's known as being stuck in a k-hole." said Hotch.

"So his victims were completely conscious when he killed them? Imagine what she must have gone through." said Sheriff Georgia Davis.

"It's essential for this unsub that he sees the terror in his victim's eyes. That is what gets him off." said Emily.

"He's either had medical training, or he's honed his skills over the years." said Hotch.

"Look for a man in his mid to late fifties, highly intelligent, methodically and obsessively clean." said Gideon.

"His vehicle is most likely an RV, muted in color, neither old nor new, in perfect working order." said Emily.

"It will have a CB, radar detectors, and police-band radio. All these things have helped him evade you." said Morgan.

"And this vehicle is his killing room. It'll be soundproofed. Surgical instruments are on the walls. There's a stirrup chair or an autopsy table in it." said Hotch.

"All of his kills are recorded... If not on video, in a journal that he carries with him in his right-hand inside jacket pocket." said Gideon.

"How could you know that?" asked Deputy Silo.

"Tool marks on the remains indicate that he's left-handed." said Emily.

"This man is void of all normal human feelings." said Gideon.

xxxxxx

Sheriff Davis led Spencer, Emily, and Gideon into a jail cell.

"How you feeling, Jane?" asked Sheriff Davis.

"I don't want to go home, George. Please don't make me go home." pleaded Jane.

"Jane... These people are from the FBI. I'd like you to tell them your story." said Sheriff Davis.

"Why, so they can make fun of me, too?" asked Jane.

Emily looked at Jane's whistle.

"It's very pretty. Did you make it?" asked Emily.

"It was a gift." said Jane.

"Oh. What happened to you?" asked Emily.

Sheriff Davis gave Jane a nod.

"My car broke down. The engine went out on me and... You know, in those days, they didn't have cell phones, so I tried to fix it myself. Then I felt  
the presence. And then everything went white. I was in a spaceship. And I could see myself. It was like time was suspended. I could feel  
everything, and there were strange maps on the walls... Diagrams of all the stars. I was cold. It was very, very cold. And the alien, he did things to me. He touched me... Very softly, and he stroked my hair, and he drew lines all over my body, and the whole time, he was standing there smiling down on me. And then I looked into his eyes... And I wasn't afraid anymore. I don't know why." said Jane.

"Then what did he do?" asked Gideon.

"And then I... Was back in my own bed, and it was the next morning." said Jane.

"How long ago did this happen?" asked Emily.

"I was 19. It was 30 years ago." said Jane.

"And did you ever see him again?" asked Emily.

"Oh, I see him. I see him every time I shut my eyes." said Jane.

A few minutes later Sheriff Davis was leading Spencer, Emily, and Gideon out of the room.

"The strange maps on the walls could have been anatomical drawings." said Spencer.

"What about the fact that she could see herself?" asked Sheriff Davis.

"A mirrored ceiling." said Gideon.

"So his victims could see themselves being dismembered." said Emily.

George closed her eyes.

"Every time I think it can't get any worse, it does." said Sheriff Davis.

"Her subconscious mind has created a delusion that she was abducted by an alien." said Gideon.

"It's possible she's the only one who's survived." said Emily.

"Why did he let her go?" asked Sheriff Davis.

"She said when she looked into his eyes, she felt relaxed." said Emily.

"And in that moment, the one thing that he wanted... She didn't give him." said Gideon.

"Fear." said Emily.

xxxxxx

"We set up a nationwide tip line, but all we've really got so far is white male, mid- to late-fifties, tall, with a medium build." said Hotch.

"From the remains discovered this morning, we know he doesn't keep his victims long." said Gideon.

"We've got more cops arriving by the hour to help find this guy. We also put out a nationwide APB." said Sheriff Davis.

"If he is still in this town, and we believe he is, he has absolutely no way out." said Morgan.

"What are we waiting for?" asked Deputy Silo.

"Let's go catch this SOB." said Morgan.

A few seconds later Spencer started walking with Emily so they could interview people in the RV park.

xxxxxxxx

"To get away with murder, you simply don't tell anyone." said Spencer.

"And the only people he told were the people he killed, and then he took from them what he needed... Cash, credit cards." said Emily.

"I'm gonna call Garcia and see if anything Katherine Hale owned was used after her death." said Spencer as he pulled out his phone.

"And then he moved on to his next victim..." said Emily.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer and Emily were walking when Spencer stopped walking at the sound of wind chimes.

"Maybe he's not using an RV. Maybe he's towing a trailer." said Spencer.

"That way he could unhook and move about freely." said Emily.

"He could also hide it. That's why we can't find him." said Spencer excitably.

"He's waiting for the roadblocks to clear. OK, if he has a truck, it's gonna be just like his trailer... Muted in color and American made." said Emily.

Spencer looked at the sky.

"It's gonna be dark soon. We should to back and call Gideon. I think the unsub's in town somewhere." said Spencer.

"Yeah." said Emily before they hurried towards the others.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer searched through Sheriff Davis's house with his teammates and Deputy Silo.

"It's clear." said Morgan.

"All clear." said Deputy Silo as he crouched down to pick up a jug.

"Silo, Silo, don't touch anything. We need to profile this room." said Morgan.

"Profile?! You said the call was made 5 hours ago by the unsub right outside this house! Now what's the profile?! He took George!" shouted an angry Deputy Silo.

"Why?" asked Gideon.

"All right, we need to work fast." said Hotch.

"All right, she enters the house, and then it's habitual." said Morgan.

"OK, she drops her keys, hits the answering machine, takes off her gun belt. Then moves throughout the kitchen." said Emily.

"He's never taken anyone of prominence. Why take the sheriff?" asked Gideon.

"And not her gun. Silo, call your office. See if she was planning to meet anyone." said Hotch.

While Deputy Silo made his phone call, Spencer reached into his suit jacket and grabbed one of his neon green latex free gloves.

"No way a cop would take chase without their gun. Definitely looks like she tried to make a go for it." said Morgan while Spencer picked up a  
syringe.

"But she didn't make it." said Spencer as he held up the syringe.

"Guys…" said Morgan.

"George brought crazy Jane home with her." said Deputy Silo.

"So, he takes control of George, then goes after what he came here for." said Morgan.

"Crazy Jane." said Emily.

"Those footprints, they got to be Jane's. They go to the back. She escapes. The unsub knows the Ketamine's gonna wear off, so he's got to act." said Morgan.

"No. He hasn't got what he came here for." said Gideon.

"So for leverage, he takes the sheriff, which means sooner or later, he'll contact us." said Hotch.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hotch got off his phone.

"Katherine Hale's cell phone just came back on in the middle of town." said Hotch.

"Let's do this." said Deputy Silo.

"He thinks we have Jane." said Gideon.

"Which means he wants a trade." said Morgan.

"Whatever he wants, we need to find Jane and the sheriff fast. You go to town, we'll go to Jane's." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer, Hotch, and Emily got onto Jane's porch, and when Spencer and Hotch were on either side of the front door, Emily noticed the wind chimes.

"Guys! These wind chimes are made of bone! I think it's human rib bones." said Emily.

Spencer looked at the wind chimes in horror.

"Another unpleasant experience for my eidetic memory." muttered Spencer.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer and Emily were both wearing gloves going through the wind chimes when Hotch came out of the house.

"Completely empty. She's not here." said Hotch.

"Well, he's obviously been here before and left these gifts for her." said Spencer as he looked at one of the wind chimes.

"How romantic." said Emily.

"His version of romance." said Hotch.

"What... are you trying to say you think he keeps coming back here because he's in love with her?" asked Emily.

"That's impossible. A sexual sadist can't feel love." said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law and thought about how he realized that Spencer had a crush on his sister on the day they met.

"Well, define love." said Hotch.

Spencer thought about how he ended up falling in love

"Chemically, it involves surging brain elements called monoamines, dopamines, norepinephrine, and serotonin. Love chemicals controlled by  
phenethylamine, also found in..." said Spencer.

"Chocolate. I love chocolate." said Emily.

"Peas, too! It's also found in peas!" said Spencer excitably as he thought about his favorite vegetable.

"Peas?" asked Emily.

"Reid?" asked Hotch.

Spencer noticed the look that his brother in law gave him so he stopped.

"Spread out, everybody. Keep looking." said Hotch.

A few minutes later Spencer, Hotch, and Emily were heading into a barn in a V formation with Spencer taking the lead.

"FBI!" shouted Hotch.

Spencer noticed a sheet causing him to lead Hotch and Emily to the sheet, and after peeking through the sheet to see that there was no one there, Spencer quickly pulled down the sheet.

A few seconds later Spencer, Hotch, and Emily were all crouching below the windows of the RV as they headed to the door and before he knew it, Hotch nodded at Spencer to open up the door of the RV so Hotch could rush inside.

Hotch looked in the room that their unsub did his work in.

"Clear." said Hotch quietly.

Spencer looked in horror at all the tools that were in the RV causing him to think back to it only taking a few weeks not to get sick at any crime scenes.

"I thought I'd seen everything." said Hotch before noticing a coffin, "Guys." said Hotch.

"What is it?" asked Spencer.

"It's a coffin." said Hotch before opening the coffin that revealed one of the recent victims.

"Hotch, there's another coffin over here." said Emily.

A few seconds later Hotch opened the coffin and sighed in relief when he saw Sheriff Davis alive.

"It's OK. Don't try to speak. We've got you." soothed Hotch as he helped Sheriff Davis get out.

"Thank God." said Sheriff Davis.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer got out of the front passenger seat of an SUV before Hotch helped George out of the back, and a few seconds later Mark hug his wife.

"George?! George, baby?! You all right?! Ha! Thank god. Thank god." cried Mark.

"He killed Tommy's teacher. I saw it. Oh. Annie. She was just 22. What's wrong?" asked Sheriff Davis as she rested a hand on her husband's shoulder.

"They found the school bus abandoned just outside of town." said Mark.

"Tommy's supposed to be on that field trip. Where is he?" asked Sheriff Davis.

"Safe. He's fine. He's with my mom. But that man, he also killed the school bus driver." said Mark.

Sheriff Davis turned around to look at Spencer, Hotch, and Emily.

"How?! We had the whole town shut down. There was no way out." said Sheriff Davis.

"What was the one vehicle we weren't looking for?" asked Hotch.

"A school bus." said Spencer as he thought about Diana starting preschool in September.

"More importantly, where are the children?" asked Hotch.

A few minutes later an officer pulled up with Jane.

"Sir, I found her walking the streets." said an officer.

Hotch helped Jane get out.

"Jane, he's been coming back to this town for years to see you." said Hotch.

"All those years why?" asked Jane.

"He says he's in love with you." said Hotch.

"He's in love with me? Why?!" asked Jane.

"That's what he says." said Hotch.

"He hides out in your old barn, and he watches you, and when he leaves, he leaves these wind chimes as gifts." said Emily.

"They're beautiful, aren't they?" asked Jane.

"They're not beautiful. They are the remains of people he took, tortured, and killed. He is not an alien. You were abducted by a serial killer." said Emily.

"But he did come for me, didn't he? Not George! He came for me, didn't he?" asked Jane.

"That's what he says." said Hotch.

Jane looked at Sheriff Davis.

"You told me to run, but I didn't want to run. I wanted to see him again, to see his eyes and see his face. And I don't know... Somehow it just felt  
like I was coming home." said Jane.

Gideon and Morgan brought out Frank.

"Jane!" shouted Frank.

"Oh!" exclaimed Jane as she ran towards Frank.

Emily and Sheriff Davis held Jane back.

"He has the children, Jane!" cried Sheriff Davis.

"He has our children." said Deputy Silo.

"And we will find them." said Morgan.

"And if we don't, they'll die of exposure!" shouted Deputy Silo before looking at his boss, "He hasn't got Tommy, George, but what if he did? Hand him over." ordered Deputy Silo.

"Silo." said Sheriff Davis.

"What choice do we have?" asked Deputy Silo.

"Not this one!" said Sheriff Davis.

"Tell them, Jason. Tell them I'm not interested in harming children. You've studied me for years. Have I ever once harmed a child? It does nothing for me. Give me Jane... And they'll have their children back.

"Is she part of this with you?" asked Deputy Silo.

"Look at her, rick. She's not a part of anything. She's as much his victim as you are." said Sheriff Davis.

"With Jane in my life, I will never harm another human being." said Frank.

Jane tried to escape George's and Emily's grasp only to be held back.

"Oh. Leave her alone!" ordered Frank.

Deputy Silo charged at Frank causing Morgan to keep Deputy Silo back.

"Hey! Don't even think about it." said Morgan.

"No matter what you do to him, he will never give you what you want." said Gideon.

"I'm telling you, Rick, they'll find the children. Trust me." said Sheriff Davis.

"Take me with you, Frank. Just you and me." said Gideon.

"And my Jane?" asked Frank.

"You'll take me to where the kids are?" asked Gideon.

"Happily. I couldn't have that on my conscience." said Frank.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that night Spencer quietly entered Diana's bedroom and he smiled softly when he saw Diana fast asleep. After watching Diana sleep for a minute, Spencer lightly kissed his daughter's head.

"Daddy loves you, bumble bee." whispered Spencer before leaving the room.

20 seconds later Spencer entered his and Clarissa's bedroom, and as soon as he entered the bedroom Clarissa exited the master bathroom.

"Welcome home, Spence." said Clarissa.

"The killer got away." said Spencer as he explained about what he saw and Frank abducting children.

When he was finished, Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Need me to help you forget briefly?" asked Clarissa.

"I just need to wash away what I saw in that RV." said Spencer.

"Then we'll take a bubble bath together." said Clarissa.

10 minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were taking a bubble bath together.


	46. The Big Game and Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is definitely the longest chapter yet since I had to combine The Big Game and Revelations. I ended up creating my own flashbacks since I gave Spencer a different background, so I hope you readers love the flashbacks I have written. Here's a heads up that there will be no drug addiction for Spencer since he has a family to go home to in this universe.

Morgan looked at Spencer as he thought about how Spencer always bailed out since crowded bars were always way too overstimulating for him.

"So what are you doing during the super bowl party?" asked Morgan.

"I have a date." said Spencer.

Emily perked up.

"Why don't you bring her to the party?" asked Morgan.

"I doubt that Hotch and Haley would appreciate me taking their son to a bar." said Spencer.

Morgan's mouth dropped while Emily burst out laughing.

"Nice one, Reid." said Emily as she held out her hand for a high five.

Spencer returned the high five.

"Your babysitting Jack?" asked Morgan.

Spencer nodded.

"Have fun with little Hotchner." said Morgan.

"I will." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

The next night Spencer and Clarissa woke up to screaming, and as soon as Spencer and Clarissa had their glasses on they rushed to Diana's bedroom where they found Diana crying causing Spencer to scoop up his crying daughter and sit down with Diana curling up on his lap.

"What's wrong, bumble bee?" asked Spencer as he wiped Diana's tears.

"You are on a case and a monster took you, daddy. and you didn't come home." sobbed Diana.

Spencer hugged his daughter tightly.

"I know that you are worried when I'm on a case with your uncle Aaron, but your uncle always makes sure that I'm safe. When I joined the BAU I promised your mommy that I would always come home to you and mommy, and now with you becoming a big sister, I have to make sure I come home so I can meet your sibling in 29 weeks." said Spencer.

Diana looked at her mommy and placed a hand on her mommy's nearly 11-week baby bump.

"I think its my sister in here." said Diana.

"We have five more weeks until we find out." said Clarissa.

"Can I please sleep with you two?" asked Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa looked at each other and nodded before Spencer stood up with Diana still in his arms.

xxxxxxxxxxx

The next evening Hotch and Haley looked at Spencer and Clarissa who each had a child on their hip.

"With how late we're going to be out, you are definitely staying for the night." said Hotch.

Spencer and Clarissa both nodded while Haley looked at her 15-month-old son who was on Clarissa's hip.

"You be a good boy for uncle Spencer and auntie Clarissa and have fun playing with your cousin." said Haley as she gave her son a kiss.

"Mama." smiled Jack before looking at his daddy, "Dada." said Jack.

"At least babysitting Jack helps us prepare for when this little one is born." said Clarissa as she rested a hand on her 11-week baby bump.

Hotch looked at his niece who was on her daddy's hip.

"Are you going to have fun playing with Jack?" asked Hotch.

"I read to Jack." said Diana.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa looked at their daughter and nephew.

"So what should we do first until its bath time and bedtime?" asked Clarissa.

"Read." said Diana.

"OK." said Spencer as he opened up Diana's overnight bag and pulled out one of the books that Diana picked out, "Are you going to help me read to Jack?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, daddy." said Diana.

A minute later Diana was reading out loud "The Cat and the Hat" to Jack while Spencer and Clarissa beamed proudly at their daughter while thinking about how she's going to be a wonderful big sister.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer and Clarissa stopped focusing on the movie "Monsters Inc." to see Jack fast asleep while Diana was about to fall asleep.

"I'll get Jack into his crib while you get Diana into the guest bedroom that we'll be staying in." said Clarissa quietly as she stood up with the 15-month-old toddler in her arms.

"OK." said Spencer as he got up with the three-year-old in his arms.

After taking Diana to the bathroom, Spencer was tucking in Diana in Clarissa's old bedroom that had a queen sized bed.

"Mommy and I will be in here soon." said Spencer.

"OK." said Diana.

"Good night, Diana." said Spencer as he gave his daughter a kiss.

"Good night, daddy." said Diana.

A few minutes later Spencer met Clarissa in the hallway.

"We should go downstairs and clean up before joining Diana." said Clarissa.

Spencer nodded.

xxxxxxxx

Two hours later Hotch looked at JJ.

"I'll take care of notifying Reid since Haley and I told him that he could stay in the guest bedroom tonight if he decided to go to bed before Haley and I got home. So I'll run Haley home and bring Reid to the BAU with me." said Hotch.

"OK." said JJ.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

A few minutes later at the Hotchner residence Spencer woke up to his work cellphone gently ringing causing him to quickly answer.

"Dr. Reid." answered Spencer groggily.

"We have a case and I'll be picking you up in 10 minutes." said Hotch.

"OK." said Spencer as he slowly got out of bed so he wouldn't wake up his girls.

A few seconds later Clarissa woke up.

"What's wrong?" asked Clarissa.

"I have a case so Aaron and Haley are on their way back so your brother and I will be riding to the BAU together." said Spencer as he leaned forward to give Diana a kiss, "Daddy loves you, bumble bee." said Spencer softly.

Clarissa gave her husband a kiss.

"Please try to stay safe." said Clarissa.

"I will." said Spencer before hurrying to the bathroom so he could get dressed and switch to his contacts.

10 minutes later Spencer and Hotch were heading to Quantico.

xxxxxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer entered the conference room with Hotch.

"How was babysitting?" asked Garcia.

"Babysitting Jack went well, and after putting Jack to bed I was able to get some sleep." said Spencer.

Hotch looked at Garcia.

"It was already planned that Reid would be staying in the guest bedroom before we got called in." said Hotch.

"You know, it never fails. Just as I'm getting my groove thing going, bam. We're back at the BAU." said Morgan as he drank some coffee.

Spencer slightly smirked as he thought about him and Clarissa getting to spend time with their daughter and nephew.

"You know, statistically a case doesn't come in with any more frequency if you're at a party or a gathering and if you aren't. It's a trick of the mind. We merely remember the ones that came in that way more." said Spencer.

"So is it really that hard for you to get your groove "thang" going again?" asked a laughing Emily.

Gideon came into the room.

"Only when he's sleeping." said Gideon as he draped his jacket over a chair.

"Where were you tonight?" asked Hotch.

"I told you, I went to the Smithsonian." said Gideon.

"You missed a good time." said Emily.

"I had a good time." said Gideon just as JJ walked briskly into the room.

"Well, that's definitely over. Georgia." said JJ as she pulled up a picture of a couple, "The Kyles Dennis and Lacy were murdered an hour ago in their suburban Atlanta home." said JJ.

"An hour ago?" asked Hotch.

"Police were on scene unusually fast." said JJ.

"Why?" asked Morgan.

"One of the unsubs called them and told them that the other was about to murder the victims." said JJ.

"You're kidding." said Morgan.

"From inside the house. According to the dispatcher, the first male sounded terrified and begged them to get there before the other, who they both identified as Raphael, was about to kill the sinners that lived there." said JJ.

"Sinners?" asked Hotch.

"The 911 center is going to send Garcia a copy of the tape." said JJ.

Garcia nodded.

"How fast was the police response time?" asked Spencer.

"4 minutes, 26 seconds. During which time..." said JJ as she showed some pictures, "Raphael managed to do this." said JJ.

"Oh." said Garcia as she turned away.

"In 4 1/2 minutes?" asked Emily.

"Mr. Kyle is a dot com millionaire. His company is one of the largest employers in the community. There's gonna be media coverage. Also, when they arrived, the police found this displayed prominently on the bed." said JJ as she pulled up a picture of a Bible verse.

"Revelations chapter 6, verse 8." said Hotch.

"They're killing sinners. These guys are on a mission." said Morgan.

"And mission-based killers will not stop killing." said Spencer.

"And I looked in behold a pale horse, and his name that sat upon m was death." read Hotch.

"And hell followed with him." finished Gideon.

xxxxxxxxx

A few hours later Emily looked at Morgan.

"This is a bad one, isn't it?" asked Emily.

"Unsubs with a cause are never good." said Morgan.

Garcia's face popped up on the laptop.

"Pets, I just got the 911 call from the Georgia state police." said Garcia.

Spencer quickly got up from where he was sitting and sat down between Hotch and JJ while they listened to the 911 call.

After listening to the call Emily looked at her teammates.

"Well, unsub one definitely sounds frightened. Maybe he's doing this against his will." said Emily.

"I doubt it. He whispered." said Gideon.

"He could have called out to save them instead of calling 911." said Hotch.

"Not if he had a gun to his head." said Morgan.

"If he had a gun to his head, why would he have dialed 911?" asked Gideon.

"The second unsub said Raphael was going to kill someone. Is there a third?" asked JJ.

"Referring to oneself in the third person is not uncommon for an unsub. Ted Bundy gave thoroughly detailed accounts of his murders, but he never actually admitted to doing it. He would just say, "the killer." said Spencer.

"OK, so I'm gonna go ahead and the name Raphael through the Georgia criminal databases as well as our own." said Garcia.

"Thanks, Garcia." said Hotch.

"Ever so welcome, my liege." said Garcia before Morgan ended the video chat.

"We have a killing team on a mission in rural Georgia. We know what that means." said Hotch.

"They're not gonna stop until the mission's complete," said Morgan.

"We need to hit the ground running. JJ, We need an inside picture of the victims. Victimology can be critically important in a mission-based spree," said Hotch.

JJ got up.

"Already on it." said JJ as she walked towards her phone.

"Prentiss, go where the bodies are. Examine the wounds. They managed to kill two victims in 4 1/2 minutes. We need to know how." said Hotch.

"You got it." said Emily.

"I'm gonna set up at the Atlanta field office and go over case files from the state. It would be highly unusual for a first kill to be this efficient." said Hotch.

"Reid, you and Morgan, come with me to the crime scene." said Gideon.

"We land in less than an hour. Everybody try to get some rest." said Hotch as he got up and headed over to where he was sitting while Spencer headed to the couch to lay down.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was wearing his navy blue military style pea coat with his arms crossed and protective booties over his shoes when he looked at Gideon.

"You all right?" asked Spencer softly.

Gideon looked at Spencer and noticed some concern showing in his big brown eyes.

"What?" asked Gideon.

"You seem unhappy." said Spencer.

Gideon looked at the young man that had become a second son to him.

"I am unhappy. Tired of people using religion to justify the terrible things they do." said Gideon

Detective Farraday looked at Spencer and Gideon.

"You're saying these killers are on a mission?" asked Detective Farraday.

"These unsubs believe they're either on a mission from God or that the Bible was somehow guiding them." said Spencer.

"Unsubs?" asked Detective Farraday.

"That stands for unknown subjects. The killers, working as a team." said Spencer.

"It sounded to me like only one of them was into the mission." said Detective Farraday.

"It's usually more complicated than even that. In the case of Dick Hickock and Perry Smith, Perry was the subservient personality. Basically against even entering the clutter home, and yet he was the one who almost single handedly slaughtered the entire family." said Spencer.

"Huh." said Detective Farraday.

Gideon looked at Detective Farraday.

"How many times was Mr. Kyle stabbed?" asked Gideon.

"Stabbed... Isn't exactly the word." said Detective Farraday.

xxxxxxxxx

"This is an unincorporated area. We're stretched pretty thin, manpower-wise. That's why we couldn't get here any faster after the guy called." said Detective Farraday.

"4 1/2 minutes, that's a pretty good response time." said Gideon.

"Yeah, that's on par with New York City's response time. 4.3 minutes." said Spencer.

Morgan approached them.

"And they've got a hell of a lot more cops per capita." said Morgan.

"This unsub was good. You didn't really have a chance." said Gideon.

"OK, I know my partner called 911. The police are on the way, so I don't have a lot of time. Now, assuming unsub one didn't actively participate, I gotta believe I entered the bedroom from here." said Morgan as he walked to the doorway, "I see Mr. Kyle on the other side of the bed. So I approach him. And I cut him first." said Morgan.

"Well, how do you know that?" asked Detective Farraday.

"A blitz attacker neutralizes the greatest threat first. In this case, it would be the man." said Morgan.

"Plus a 911 call. Woman screamed." said Gideon.

"You can't scream with your throat cut." said Spencer.

"So Mrs. Kyle sees her husband murdered. She runs back into the bathroom." said Morgan before looking at a crime scene tech, "Excuse me, man. She tries to close the door behind her. I force my way in. And I kill Mrs. Kyle back here in the bathroom." said Morgan.

"We checked that smudge for prints. Nothing. Looks like he wore some gloves. Not with any pattern. Like latex maybe." said Detective Farraday.

"That doesn't make any sense at all." said Morgan.

"It doesn't?" asked Detective Farraday.

"Unsubs suffering from a psychopathy, a delusion, like a message from God, or what we could classify as being disorganized. They don't generally clean up after themselves." said Spencer.

"You know, maybe unsub one, the frightened one, made sure they didn't." said Morgan just as his cellphone rang, "Yeah, talk to me, baby girl." Said Morgan causing Spencer, Morgan, and Detective Farraday to listen to Morgan's side of the conversation before walking to the open laptop.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was looking over the Kyles laptop as he listened to the live feed that his teammates were listening to while listening to his teammates talk about their unsub before Hotch walked over to him.

"So, if this video came from that computer's camera, then what? Did the unsubs bring it with them?" asked Hotch.

"As far as we can tell, this computer belonged to the Kyles. Garcia can do a better analysis, but it has their banking statements, vacation photos."  
said Spencer.

"One comes into the room and immediately goes after Mr. Kyle. What, did the other unsub turn the camera on?" asked Hotch.

Spencer looked at the laptop he was going through.

"We might be asking the wrong questions. This video, this message, it's important. Clearly they want the world to see this. They need it. But they didn't bring a camera with them." said Gideon.

Spencer instantly had a strange feeling about being watched before noticing that the camera of the laptop he was going through was on causing him to slowly get up.

"Agent Franks? Does this building have wireless internet?" asked Spencer quietly.

"Yeah. Why?" asked Agent Franks.

"That camera's on right now." said Spencer quietly before he raised his voice a bit, "The computer's connected itself to the internet. It's streaming a video feed somewhere." said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Can we trace this stream to the destination?" asked Hotch quietly.

"Keep it open, Garcia might be able-." said Spencer before the laptop started to beep.

Spencer quickly sat down as a message saying THE ARMIES OF SATAN SHALL NOT PREVAIL before turning off.

"It turned off." said Spencer.

"So they're controlling it remotely?" asked Hotch.

"Is that even possible?" asked Emily.

A few minutes later Garcia was on the phone.

"Yeah, you can totally access someone's computer remotely. It's actually done a lot today. When a mortal calls for tech support, instead of like giving you instructions, the tech can work on your computer from wherever she is." said Garcia.

"And they maintain the access even after the work is done?" asked Hotch.

"They're not supposed to, but I suppose you could install a Trojan horse during a service." said Garcia.

"Something left in the computer to be turned on later. Same way that websites get pop-up adds onto your computer." said Spencer.

"Garcia, can you check the Kyles' phone records and see if they called for tech support in the last 6 months?" asked Hotch.

"Right-O. Oh, and if you get me the Kyles' laptop, I can search the drive for anything implanted there." said Garcia.

"Fast as we can." said Hotch.

"By the way, this video, it's gone crazy viral." said Garcia.

"What does that mean?" asked Gideon.

"That means it's the most downloaded video on the entire internet, worldwide. And judging by the responses embedded in the files, people seem to think it's pretty cool." said Garcia.

"Call us if you find anything on the Kyles' computer." said Hotch.

"Yeah." said Garcia before hanging up.

"Murder as entertainment." said Gideon.

"They probably don't even realize it's real. People see so many images online every day, they might assume it's marketing for a horror film or  
something." said JJ.

"The unsubs are right about one thing... The world is pretty screwed up." said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer was drinking some coffee when Hotch looked at his teammates.

"So what have we got so far?" asked Hotch.

"Well, the killings are clinically efficient. They had the ear marks of a slaughter, as in an animal." said Emily.

"Or a sacrifice." said Morgan.

Hotch sat down.

"Haven't been able to find anything in federal or state databases that suggest similar crimes. As far as I can tell, it's the first in a series." said Hotch.

"At least one member of the team may believe he's killing in the name of God, suggest a psychopathy that should display extreme levels disorganization." said Spencer as he walked to the bulletin board and removed a piece of paper, "Yet there are forensic countermeasures and somebody in control enough to do complicated computer work. One member of the team's organized, the other's extremely disorganized. But what's strange is that the one that we would consider as being most in control, the one that made the phone call, can't seem to stop the other one from killing. Usually the frenzied personality takes direction from the cooler head." said Spencer.

"All right, so let's look at that. Unsub one called the police before the killing, but he didn't leave time for him to get there. Is the phone call just a guy working on a defense in case of capture? I mean, maybe he didn't want to stop the other, but he did whatever he had to do to cover himself." said Morgan.

"So... What do we have so far? Not enough." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer took a bite of a Rice Krispie treat when JJ approached him and Hotch.

"So, Franks is right, none of the open knife cases fit." said JJ.

"Tell me there's a but." said Hotch.

"Well, I looked at it a different way. I looked for unsolved home invasions. Three months ago, there was a prowler called in directly outside of the Kyles' house." said JJ.

"A prowler?" asked Spencer.

"The witness was walking his dog in a nearby park. Going back to his car, he saw a man in dark clothing go over the back wall and start sneaking up to the house. By the time the state police got there, prowler was gone." said JJ.

"Only one man?" asked Hotch.

"Apparently." said JJ.

"Was the witness able to describe him?" asked Spencer.

"If he did, it's not in this case file." said JJ.

"Is there a name and address for the witness?" asked Hotch.

"Tobias Hankel. Lives about an hour from here." said JJ.

"It's a long shot, but he might be able to give us a description. Why don't you and Reid go out there, see if you can find Mr. Hankel and see if he remembers something." said Hotch.

JJ nodded while Spencer stood up with his Rice Krispie treat in his hands.

"On it." said Spencer before following JJ.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

JJ knocked on the door, and a minute later Tobias Hankel opened up the door.

"Hi, Mr. Hankel?" asked JJ.

"Um... yeah?" asked Tobias.

"Mr. Hankel?" asked JJ while Spencer showed his badge, "FBI, I'm Agent Jareau, this is Agent Reid." said JJ.

"FBI?" asked Tobias.

"May we come in?" asked Spencer as he bounced on his heels a little bit.

"Um... I'm sorry, I don't let anyone in the house." said Tobias.

"Actually, I, uh, really have to, um... You know, go?" asked Spencer.

JJ realized what Spencer was talking about causing her to look at Spencer.

"You do?" asked JJ.

"For 30 minutes." said Spencer.

"Why didn't you say something in the car?" asked JJ.

Spencer looked at Tobias.

"Uh, do you mind?" asked Spencer.

"I'm sorry. My father doesn't like it." said Tobias.

"Your father? You're, like, 30." said Spencer.

"At what age can one start disrespecting the wishes of their parents?" asked Tobias.

Spencer continued to bounce on his heels.

"You witnessed something a few months ago, that might be very helpful to us." said JJ.

"I did?" asked Tobias.

"You saw someone go over a wall into a yard, you called the police?" asked JJ.

"Me?" asked Tobias.

"You didn't?" asked JJ.

"Sorry." said Tobias.

"Is there another Tobias Hankel here?" asked Spencer.

"Just me and my father. Charles." said Tobias.

"There's a report on file that lists you as calling 911. You were walking a dog." said JJ.

"No, that's wrong, I don't have a dog." said Tobias.

"Oh. All right, well, sorry to bother you, sir." said JJ.

"Are you sure I can't just quickly use the." said Spencer.

"Sorry. Have a good night." said Tobias before closing the door.

As soon as the porch light was turned off, Spencer and JJ started to walk off the porch.

"That's weird. Why bother calling the police in the first place if later, you're just going to pretend you didn't?" asked JJ as she moved a piece of hair out of her face.

Spencer instantly realized that Tobias Hankel is their unsub.

"To gauge the response time." said Spencer.

"What?" asked JJ.

"If you were going to kill somebody, but you wanted to call the police first, what would you need to know?" asked Spencer.

"How long it takes them to get there." said JJ.

Spencer sprinted off and ran around the outside of the house.

"Reid." said JJ.

A few seconds later Spencer found Tobias enter a room that was full of computers and pulled up live web cam footage before seeing Tobias staring at him before running off.

"JJ! Get back here!" shouted Spencer.

JJ came running over.

"He's the unsub! He's in the barn! Come on." said Spencer as he started to run with JJ running after him.

As soon as they reached the barn, Spencer crouched down and pulled out his Glock.

"He's in here." said Spencer.

JJ crouched down.

"You sure?" asked JJ.

Spencer gestured his gun that was in his hands.

"You ever seen me pull this thing out when I wasn't? Call Hotch." said Spencer.

"We're in the middle of nowhere, Reid. We have no cell service." said JJ.

"Right. Of course we have no service." muttered Spencer.

"What do we do?" asked JJ.

"I don't know. He's definitely in here." said Spencer while JJ pulled out her gun causing him to make his decision while trusting his brother-in-law to come find them, "You cover the front, I'm gonna go around back. Hotch knows we came here. He'll come looking for us. We'll just wait him out." said Spencer before running off.

Spencer quickly made his way around the barn to find Hankel going through a corn field.

"JJ! JJ, He's out back!" shouted Spencer before he made his decision to go after Hankel.

After running for a minute Spencer heard their unsub talking to someone.

When Spencer heard JJ scream and the sound of a gun going off he took off running towards the barn.

"JJ!" shouted Spencer before he got pistol whipped.

As Spencer tried to grab his gun, Hankel grabbed his gun and pointed it at him.

"Wait, wait, wait." said Spencer as he held up his hands.

"I couldn't stop him by myself." said Tobias.

Spencer scooted back.

"OK, OK." said Spencer.

"I tried to warn everyone." said Tobias.

"Just relax, Mr. Hankel, all right?" asked Spencer.

Tobias's demeanor changed.

"Shoot him!" said Tobias in a much different voice.

Tobias's demeanor changed causing Spencer to realize that Tobias has DID.

"I don't want to!" said Tobias.

"I said, shoot him, you weakling. He's a Satan." said Tobias in a much different voice.

Tobias started to cry.

"He didn't do anything." said Tobias.

"I won't tell you another time, boy. Shoot him!" said Tobias in a much different voice.

A few seconds later Spencer's world went black when he was hit on the head again.

xxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later Hotch was driving to the airport to pick up Garcia when he called Clarissa.

"Are you and Spencer coming home?" asked Clarissa.

Hotch sighed.

"Is Lucy with you right now?" asked Hotch.

"She is, and Diana is with Haley and Jack." said Clarissa.

"If your not sitting down, please sit down and stay calm because what I'm going to tell you won't be good for you or the baby." said Hotch.

Hotch heard some rustling.

"Something happened to, Spence?" asked Clarissa as she wiped a tear.

Hotch started explaining about how he sent his brother in law with JJ to go talk to a witness while not even realizing that Hankel was their unsub and that Spencer and JJ tried to catch Hankel themselves only for Spencer to get abducted. When he was finished he took a deep breath.

"I'm so sorry that I sent him straight to the unsub." said Hotch.

"Aaron, you didn't know that your witness was the unsub. And knowing Spence he will fight to stay alive since he promised me that he'll always come home since he has Diana, his unborn child, and me to think about. He will tell you himself that it wasn't your fault since you didn't know that your witness is the unsub. And when he's found alive, we'll have to make sure that he gets some time off to physically and mentally recover." said Clarissa.

Hotch sighed in relief as he realized that his sister is staying hopeful that her husband is found alive.

"I promise that I'll keep you updated." said Hotch.

"Damn straight, and I'll need to call my boss and let her know that I need time off since I'm in no condition to work right now." said Clarissa.

"As soon as Spencer's found I think it will be time for the rest of the team to learn about you and Diana. So as soon as Spencer's found alive I want you to come down to Georgia." said Hotch.

"I'll be waiting for your phone call, but right now I have to go so I can call my boss." said Clarissa before hanging up.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer woke up to seeing a single light bulb hanging over his head while realizing that he was handcuffed to a chair.

"They're gone." said Tobias/Raphael.

"Who are they?" asked Spencer.

"It's just me now." said Tobias/Raphael.

"Who... who are you?" asked Spencer.

"I'm Raphael." said Tobias/Raphael.

Spencer gulped as he smelled something horrible.

"What's that smell?" asked Spencer.

"They're burning fish hearts and livers. Keeps away the devil. They believe you can see inside men's minds." said Tobias/Raphael.

"It's not true. I study human behavior." said Spencer.

Tobias/Raphael as he pulled out a revolver.

"I'm not interested in the arguments of men." said Tobias/Raphael as he took out a bullet and showed it to Spencer, "You know that this is? It's God's will." said Tobias/Raphael as he put the bullet back in and spun the chamber before pointing the revolver at Spencer's forehead.

Spencer instantly thought about the smiling faces of his pregnant wife and Diana.

"You don't have to do this." said Spencer.

"I'm just an instrument of God." said Tobias/Raphael as he pulled the trigger.

Spencer flinched before sighing in relief when the one bullet didn't come out.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer flinched when the door of the shed open causing him to see Tobias holding some firewood.

"What are you staring at, boy?" asked the Tobias/Charles personality.

Spencer quickly realized that it wasn't the Raphael personality that was talking to him.

"You're not Raphael." said Spencer.

"Do I look like Raphael?" asked the Tobias/Charles personality as he used one of the logs to move the fish hearts and livers around.

Spencer sighed.

"Thank you for burning those... Keeping us safe." said Spencer.

"Don't try to trick me." said Tobias/Charles.

"I would never try and trick you." said Spencer calmly.

"You're a liar." said Tobias/Charles.

"I'm not a liar." said Spencer.

"Lying's a sin." said Tobias/Charles.

"I'm not a liar." said Spencer.

Tobias/Charles briskly walked over to Spencer and sat in front of him before grabbing Spencer's right leg.

"This will be over quickly if you just confess your sins." said Tobias/Charles.

"I'm not a sinner." said Spencer.

Tobias/Charles quickly removed Spencer's shoe.

"We're all sinners." said Tobias/Charles before lifting up Spencer's left leg and removed his shoe.

"The lord spake unto Moses saying, "speak unto all the congregation of the children of the lord " and say unto them, ye shall be holy, for I, the lord your God, am holy." recited Spencer as he tried to keep himself calm.

"You know Leviticus." said Tobias/Charles.

"I know every word of the Bible. I can recite it for you." said Spencer.

"The devil knows how to read, too." said Tobias/Charles as he removed one of Spencer's socks.

"I'm not a devil. I'm not a devil. I'm a man. My name is Spencer Reid, and I had a mother, and I had a father just like you, and they taught me the Bible until their deaths." said Spencer.

"And I have a father, just like you, and they taught me the Bible." said Tobias/Charles as he grabbed a piece of wood.

"Let me just recite the Bible." said Spencer as Tobias/Charles held up his left leg and a log.

"Time to confess, Spencer Reid." said Tobias/Charles as he slammed a log against Spencer's foot.

Spencer screamed in pain.

"Confess." said Tobias/Charles.

"I... I don't have anything to confess." said Spencer quietly before Tobias/Charles hit his foot again causing him to scream.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer turned his head when he saw Hankel come in with a slaughtered animal.

"You need to eat." said Tobias.

"What's your name?" asked Spencer.

"Tobias." said Tobias.

"Tobias? Who was here before?" asked Spencer.

"It was probably my father." said Tobias before noticing that one of Spencer's feet is bare, "I'm sorry if he hurt you." said Tobias before he started to remove his belt.

"What are you doing?" asked Spencer.

Tobias started to wrap the belt around Spencer's right bicep.

"Don't. Please don't." said Spencer.

Tobias shook his head.

"It helps." said Tobias as he pulled out a syringe and a bottle, "Don't tell my father. He doesn't know they're here." said Tobias.

"Please. I don't want it. I don't want it. Please." pleaded Spencer before looking into Hankel's eyes, "I have a wife of over four years, a three year old little girl, and my wife's 11-weeks pregnant with my second child so I don't want to lose them over drugs." said Spencer quickly.

"Your really married and a father?" asked Tobias.

"I'm married to a devote Christian woman, and my wife and I have been teaching our three-year-old about the Bible." said Spencer.

Tobias shook his head.

"Trust me. I know." said Tobias before he injected the drug into Spencer's vein.

Spencer quickly zonked out as the drug went into his system.

Flashback

Spencer woke up in a hospital bed to see his aunt and uncle sitting on either side of him.

"Why am I here?" croaked Spencer.

Ethel raised her nephew's hospital bed before helping Spencer take a sip of water before Gordon placed a spare pair of Spencer's glasses onto the bridge of his nose.

"Do you remember what happened to you?" asked Gordon.

"Harper Hillman came into the library and told me that Alexa Libson wanted to meet be behind the field house." said Spencer as he explained what happened to him before he started crying.

Gordon instantly hugged his nephew.

"As soon as I tied you down and called for back up, the principal told me to take you here since we wanted to make sure that nothing else happened." said Gordon.

"So a rape kit was done?" asked Spencer.

Gordon nodded.

"You weren't raped." said Gordon.

"I already knew that, but what's happening to everyone that was involved?" asked Spencer.

Gordon started explaining what's going to happen, and when Gordon was done, Spencer looked at his uncle.

"There will be classmates who will think that I'm weak if I'm going to be having one of your officers be one of my body guards." muttered Spencer.

Gordon looked at his adopted son.

"Your not weak, Spencer." said Gordon.

"I'm not weak." repeated Spencer.

Flashback ended.

"I'm not weak. I'm not weak" muttered Spencer as he started to wake up.

"I don't give a damn whether you're weak or strong. Yell all you want, boy. Ain't no one gonna hear you where you are." said Tobias/Charles before he started screaming.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer felt his hair be grabbed making him realize that he was dealing with Charles's personality.

"Oh. Are you ready, boy?" asked Tobias/Charles.

"Ready for what?" asked Spencer.

"My weakling son thinks God gave you to him for a reason." said Tobias/Charles before letting go of Spencer's hair, "Let's see if we're both right." said Tobias/Charles as he placed a video camera in front of Spencer.

xxxxxxxxx

"Can you really see inside men's minds? See these vermin? Choose one to die. I'll let you choose one to live." said Tobias/Charles.

"No." said Spencer.

"I thought you wanted to be some kind of savior." said Tobias/Charles.

"You're a sadist and a psychotic break. You won't stop killing. Your word's not true." said Spencer.

Tobias/Charles looked at the camera.

"The other heathens are watching. Choose a sinner to die, and I'll say the name and address of the person to be saved." said Tobias/Charles.

Spencer quickly thought about the slaughtered animal that Tobias brought in causing him to think of a coded message.

"I won't get choose who gets slaughtered and have you leave their remains behind like a poacher." said Spencer.

Tobias/Charles lifted Spencer up.

"Can you really see into my mind, boy? Can you see I'm not a liar?! Choose one to die, and save a life. Otherwise, they're all dead." said  
Tobias/Charles before letting Spencer back down.

"All right, I'll choose who lives." said Spencer.

"They're all the same." said Tobias/Charles.

Spencer looked at the four screens and noticed a woman in a kitchen that contained a sippy cup.

"Far right screen." said Spencer.

"Marilyn David, 4913 Walnut Creek Road." said Tobias/Charles.

A few seconds later Spencer watched Marilyn answer a phone call before turning off the camera before Spencer realized that Hankel's personality had changed.

"Raphael." said Spencer.

Tobias/Raphael turned off the camera.

"You've done your part. Now it's my turn." said Tobias/Raphael before leaving the shed.

xxxxxxxx

Meanwhile in Washington DC, Clarissa's cellphone vibrated causing Clarissa to see a text from her brother.

I HAVE AN UPDATE ON SPENCER AND HE'S ALIVE, BUT THE TEAM AND I ARE STILL TRYING TO FIND HIM. ~ AH

"What is it?" asked Haley.

"Aaron just told me that he has proof that Spencer's still alive, and that they're still searching for him." sobbed Clarissa as she clutched her belly.

Haley hugged her sister-n-law.

"You have to stay calm for yourself and the baby." said Haley.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer closed his eyes as he watched Tobias/Raphael kill a married couple.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer sighed when he saw Gideon come into view on the live feed at the murdered victims' home.

"Reid, if you're watching, you're not responsible for this. You understand me? He's perverting God to justify murder. You are stronger than him. He cannot break you." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer realized that he was dealing with Tobias when Tobias was preparing a dosage of whatever drug he was given earlier.

"Tobias." said Spencer.

"Sorry. I had to leave for a while." said Tobias.

"You can leave again, and you can take me with you. I have a wife and little girl who are waiting for me to come home." said Spencer.

Tobias drew another dose of Dilaudid from the vial.

"My father would be angry." said Tobias.

"Not if he can't find us." said Spencer.

"He always finds me." said Tobias.

"If you tell me where we are, my friends will come, and they'll save us." said Spencer.

Tobias flicked the syringe to get rid of air bubbles.

"We can't be saved." said Tobias.

"We can. We can. I promise. If you tell me where we are, I'll save us both." said Spencer.

"Listen to me. It's not worth fighting. Tell me it doesn't make it better." said Tobias.

Spencer cried as Tobias injected Dilaudid into his veins before he went to sleep.

Flashback

Spencer was sitting on a bench with tears streaming down his face while looking at a picture of him with his aunt and uncle after he earned his first PhD, and he heard a female voice.

"You alright?" asked a young woman.

Spencer looked up and saw a girl around his age.

"My aunt and uncle who raised me since I was four-years-old, were murdered in a car accident two days ago." said Spencer as he wiped a tear from his face.

"I lost my father when I was young and my mom died last year." said the girl as she sat down next to Spencer.

"I'm Spencer Reid." said Spencer.

"I'm Clarissa Hotchner, and you look like you could use a friend." said Clarissa with a smile on her face.

Spencer looked into Clarissa's eyes and little did he know that she would eventually become his wife and the mother of his future children.

Flashback ended

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"No. No!" shouted Tobias before switching personalities, "They're trying to silence my message." said Tobias/Charles.

"I can't control what they do. I'm not with them. I'm with you." said Spencer.

"Really?" asked Tobias before he played Gideon's message.

"Reid, if you're watching, you're not responsible for this. You understand me? He's perverting God to justify murder. You are stronger than him. He cannot break you." said Gideon.

Tobias/Charles turned off the laptops.

"Do you think you can defy me?" asked Tobias/Charles.

"I don't know what he's talking about." said Spencer.

"You're a liar!" said Tobias/Charles.

After Spencer stayed silent for a few seconds Tobias/Charles grabbed Spencer's left arm and noticed a few puncture wounds.

"You're pitiful! Just like my son." said Tobias/Charles before he went to turn on the camera so Spencer's teammates can watch the live feed, "This ends now. Confess your sins." said Tobias/Charles before slapping Spencer's head.

Spencer jolted back in his chair a bit.

"Confess!" shouted Tobias/Charles.

"I haven't done anything." cried Spencer before he was punched again, "Tobias, help me." pleaded Spencer.

"He can't help you. He's weak." said Tobias/Charles before punching Spencer again.

"Tobias." cried Spencer.

Tobias/Charles grabbed Spencer's hair.

"Confess your sins." said Tobias/Charles.

"Help." cried Spencer.

Tobias/Charles pushed Spencer's chair back, and a few seconds later Spencer felt his head hitting the floor hard before he started seizing before his eyes rolled back.

"It's the devil vacating your body." said Tobias/Charles.

Spencer's world went black.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer was standing in the desert and gasped when he saw his parents, aunt, and uncle.

"Am I dead?" asked Spencer.

Diana nodded at her son.

"I can't. I've been married for over four years to a wonderful woman who has been my best friend for over six years, I have a three-year-old daughter that I named after you, and I'm going to be a father again in 29 weeks." cried Spencer.

"We know what you have done with your life." said William.

"We're proud of you for not letting our deaths not stop you from falling in love and giving us two beautiful granddaughters." said Diana.

"Clarissa's only 11-weeks pregnant with my second child." said Spencer.

"Even though I've been dead for nearly 21 years, a mother knows, Spencer. So don't be surprised when you find out in five weeks." said Diana.

Spencer started to feel a warmth.

"What's happening?" asked Spencer.

"Seems like your being given CPR." said Gordon.

"What if I don't want to go back?" asked Spencer.

"Its not your time, Spencer." said Diana.

"Will I'll see you guys again someday?" asked Spencer.

"Only when the time is right, and keep on telling our grandchildren stories about us." said Diana as she, William, Ethel, and Gordon each gave Spencer one last hug.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer opened his eyes and when his vision was clear he turned his head to notice a few headstones.

"You came back to life." said Tobias/Raphael.

Spencer realized that he was dealing with Raphael.

"Raphael." said Spencer.

"There can be only one of two reasons." said Tobias/Raphael.

"I was given CPR." croaked Spencer.

"There are no accidents. How many members are on your team?" asked Tobias/Raphael.

"Seven." said Spencer.

"The 7 angels who had the 7 trumpets prepared themselves to sound. The first sounding followed hail and they were thrown to earth." quoted Tobias/Raphael.

Tobias/Raphael lifted Spencer's chair up and Spencer sighed in relief when he was sitting up again.

"Tell me who you serve." said Tobias/Raphael.

"I serve you." said Spencer.

"Then choose one to die." said Tobias/Raphael.

"What?" asked Spencer.

"Your team members- choose one to die." said Tobias/Raphael.

Spencer knew that he needed to buy himself some time.

"Kill me." said Spencer.

"You said you weren't one of them." said Tobias/Raphael.

"I lied." said Spencer.

"Your team has 6 other members. Tell me who dies." said Tobias/Raphael.

"No." said Spencer.

Tobias/Raphael pulled out his revolver and put one bullet in it before spinning the chamber and pointed the revolver right in between Spencer's eyes.

"Choose, and prove you'll do God's will." said Tobias/Raphael.

Spencer inwardly smirked when he saw where the bullet was causing him to start mentally going through the Bible to search for a verse that could help him give his teammates his location.

"No." said Spencer.

Tobias/Raphael pulled the trigger and Spencer didn't even flinch since he saw where the bullet was.

"Choose." said Tobias/Raphael.

"I won't do it." said Spencer.

Tobias/Raphael pulled the trigger again causing Spencer not to flinch.

"Life is a choice." said Tobias/Raphael.

"No." said Spencer.

Tobias/Raphael pulled the trigger again.

"Choose." said Tobias/Raphael.

When Spencer saw that the next time he said no would be his death he made his decision as he thought about one of his many debates that he had with his brother-in-law.

"I... I choose... Aaron Hotchner. He's a classic narcissist. He thinks he's better than everyone else on the team." said Spencer before deciding to misquote a Bible verse on purpose as his coded message to Hotch, "Genesis 23:4. "Let him not deceive himself "and trust in emptiness, vanity, falseness, and futility, for these shall be his recompense. In emptiness, vanity, falseness, and futility, for these shall be his recompense." recited Spencer.

Tobias/Raphael raised his revolver above Spencer's head and shot at the wall causing Spencer to flinch as bullet hit the wall behind him before seeing that Tobias/Raphael was holding up another bullet.

"For God's will." said Tobias/Raphael as he loaded the revolver with the bullet and spun the chamber.

"Please understand my message Hotch." thought Spencer.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer drank some water, and as soon as Hankel took the cup away, Spencer looked at Hankel.

"Tobias, is that you?" asked Spencer quietly.

"Yes." said Tobias as he offered Spencer more water.

Spencer slowly drank some water and when he was finished he decided to thank Tobias for giving him CPR.

"Thank you. You saved my life." said Spencer.

"I'm sorry." said Tobias.

"Why?" asked Spencer.

"He'll win in the end." said Tobias.

"Tobias, I need to know something. It's important. Are we in a cemetery?" asked Spencer.

Tobias nodded causing Spencer to sigh in relief.

"Yeah. I used to come here to get high." said Tobias as he started to prepare another dose of Dilaudid.

"I was right." smiled Spencer.

"No one bothers you here. I never told anyone about it." said Tobias before he injected Spencer again.

Spencer fell asleep again.

Flashback

Spencer looked at his uncle.

"With me turning 18, I should be allowed to live in the dorms and no longer have an escort on campus." said Spencer.

"Your safer living here," said Gordon.

"Your not my father." said Spencer before seeing the hurt look on his uncle's face, "I'm sorry." said Spencer.

Flashback ended.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." muttered Spencer as he started to wake up.

What are you sorry for, boy?" asked Tobias/Charles.

"I told my uncle that he's not my father." said Spencer.

"Who?" asked Tobias/Charles.

"My biological parents died when I was four causing my mom's older brother and his wife to adopt me." said Spencer.

"Is that a confession?" asked Tobias/Charles.

"I confess." sighed Spencer.

"You know your Bible. Exodus 21:17." said Tobias/Charles.

"And he that curseth his father or his mother..." recited Spencer as he realized what was going to happen, "Shall surely be put to death. " recited Spencer.

Tobias/Charles came over to him and started to un cuff him.

"Grab a shovel." said Tobias/Charles.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer was digging his own grave when Tobias/Charles looked at him.

"I ought to bury you alive in there, give you time to think about what you done." said Tobias/Charles.

"I know what I've done." cried Spencer.

"Don't talk back to me. Dig." said Tobias/Charles.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer stopped digging to see if his teammates were coming.

"What are you stopping for? Dig faster!" ordered Tobias/Charles.

"I'm not strong enough." cried Spencer as he saw flashlight beams from a distance while hearing his name being called.

"You're all weak! Get out of there." said Tobias/Charles before turning around to see the flashlight beams.

Spencer took the opportunity to quickly grab the revolver and pointed it at Hankel's chest causing Hankel to see Spencer pointing the gun at him.

"Only one bullet in that gun, boy." said Tobias/Charles as he charged after Spencer with his knife.

Spencer quickly pulled the trigger causing Hankel to fall down.

"Reid!" shouted Hotch.

Spencer crawled over to Hankel and moved the knife away.

"You killed him." said Tobias.

"Tobias?" asked Spencer.

Hotch who was running through the cemetery, noticed a familiar red sweater vest causing him to sigh in relief as he realized that his brother-in-law wasn't the one who was shot.

"There he is!" shouted Hotch.

"Do you think I'll get to see my mom again?" asked Tobias before dying.

"I'm sorry." whispered Spencer.

A few seconds later Hotch and Emily approached Spencer.

"Reid. You all right?" asked Hotch gently as he and Emily helped Spencer stood up.

Spencer looked at his brother in law.

"I knew you'd understand." sobbed Spencer as he pulled his brother in law into a tight hug that Hotch quickly returned to give his brother in law some warmth as he felt some tears leaking from his own eyes.p>

"I'm so sorry." said JJ.

"It's all right. It wasn't your fault." said Spencer as he hugged JJ.

As soon as JJ released Spencer, Gideon looked at Spencer.

"Let's get you out of here." said Gideon as he was about to help Spencer walk, "Come on." said Gideon.

Spencer looked at Hankel's dead body as he thought about grabbing the vials so he could give to Hotch so doctors could get the drugs out of his system.

"Please... Can I have a second alone?" asked Spencer.

Gideon walked away, and a few seconds later Spencer was crouching down and using his slight of hand abilities to take the vials from Hankel before he limped away from Hankel's dead body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The next chapter is the last chapter and Morgan, JJ, Emily, and Garcia will meet Clarissa and little Diana. And the title of the sequel will be The Profiler and the Nurse.


	47. Reunions and the Secret is Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter of this story since Morgan, JJ, Emily, and Garcia finally gets to meet Clarissa and little Diana.

Spencer limped over to Hotch who was talking to paramedics.

"Can you please ride with me, Hotch?" whispered Spencer as a paramedic helped him get onto the gurney.

"Sure." said Hotch.

As soon as the ambulance doors closed, Reid grabbed something out of his pocket.

"I was drugged against my will, and I don't know what I was drugged with." said Spencer as he handed the bottles to Hotch and showed Hotch his elbow.

Hotch looked at the bottles and at Reid's inner elbow while thinking that he is glad that Reid shot Hankel because he would have taken the shot himself.

"Thank you for telling me Spencer." said Hotch as he handed the bottles to the paramedic who started giving orders through the radio, "We already knew that Hankel was addicted to Dilaudid."

"I don't want a lot of people to know that I was drugged against my will with a highly addictive drug." said Spencer as he winced while being poked  
and prodded.

"Clarissa should know, but I will have to let Strauss and the Director know." said Hotch.

"OK." said Spencer before a warming blanket was placed over him.

xxxxxxxxxx

While Spencer was getting the required tests done, Hotch pulled out his phone and called Clarissa.

"Have any news?" asked Clarissa.

"Spencer's alive and is currently getting a CAT scan done for the concussion he sustained." said Hotch.

"Thank God." sobbed Clarissa.

"You should catch the first flight you can find down here." said Hotch.

"How long do you think he's going to be in the hospital for?" asked Clarissa.

"Probably a few days." said Hotch as he told Clarissa the injuries he's aware of.

"Is that son of a bitch who drugged my husband with a highly addictive drug dead?" asked Clarissa.

Hotch realized that his sister was hormonal.

"Spencer killed Hankel himself." said Hotch.

"Good." said Clarissa.

"He has a long road to recovery ahead of him since there's a possibility that there'll be times that he might crave for Dilaudid while having to deal with PTSD for the rest of his life." said Hotch.

"I know, and there's no way I'm going to let him shut me out." said Clarissa.

"I'm already planning that he'll be on leave for a minimum of six weeks, and depending on what the therapist who will be assigned to him will say, I'll give him more time." said Hotch.

"I'll be letting my boss know that I'll need to be on family medical leave for awhile." said Clarissa.

"Good, and I'll let you go so you can get a bag packed." said Hotch.

"Please stay with Spence until I arrive." said Clarissa.

"I promise." said Hotch before hanging up.

xxxxxxx

As soon as Spencer and Hotch were given the results from the X-rays and CT scans that Spencer were given, Dr. Miller looked at Spencer while another doctor and nurse were putting a white cast on Spencer's foot.

"I want to keep you for five days since I want to monitor your head injury to make sure that you don't have another seizure while you go through withdrawal from the Dilaudid you were given." said Dr. Miller.

"Before I am taken up to my room, can I please have a shower so I don't smell like burnt fish when I'm reunited with my wife?" asked Spencer.

"You certainly may, but nurse will assist you so you keep your bandages dry while staying off your foot." said Dr. Miller.

Spencer sighed as he thought about having to be on crutches due to having a broken foot.

"Thank you." said Spencer before looking at Dr. Miller, "Am I allowed to have one person stay with me until visiting hours start?" asked Spencer.

"Only one person." said Dr. Miller.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"Can you please stay with me?" asked Spencer.

"I already promised my sister that I won't leave your side." said Hotch.

"You two are brother-in-laws?" asked Dr. Miller.

"Yes." said Hotch before looking at Spencer, "While a nurse helps you take a shower, I'll let the others know about your injuries." said Hotch.

"Please don't mention the Dilaudid." said Spencer.

"I won't." said Hotch before leaving the room.

xxxxxxxxxx

Hotch entered the waiting room to see that Morgan, Gideon, JJ, Emily, and Garcia were waiting for him.

"How's Spence?" asked JJ.

"Reid's going to be here for a few days." said Hotch as he listed the injuries that Spencer received while not mentioning the Dilaudid before looking at his teammates, "Why don't you guys go to a hotel for the next six hours and come back at 8:45." said Hotch.

"Why can't we stay with Reid?" asked Morgan.

"He's only allowed to have one person stay with him, and Reid asked me to stay with him." said Hotch.

Gideon looked at Morgan, Emily, JJ, and Garcia.

"Let's go." said Gideon.

"I'll keep you guys updated." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxxx

A half hour later Spencer was sitting in his hospital bed trying to eat some jello when Hotch came into the room.

"I called Clarissa, and she, Lucy, and Diana will arrive at 9 AM this morning." said Hotch as he walked over to Spencer's bed and sat down in a nearby chair.

"You didn't tell the team that my wife's coming?" asked Spencer.

"Not yet since they're all exhausted." said Hotch.

"I hope that they're not angry when they find out that I've been married for over four years to your sister." said Spencer.

"They might be hurt and angry for awhile, but we'll just have to tell them that we were ordered not to tell them." said Hotch as he took ahold of Spencer's hand and squeezed it.

"Did you tell Strauss that we're telling the team?" asked Spencer.

"When I told her that its time for the team to know, she gave me permission since you need all the support you can get." said Hotch.

Spencer felt his stomach cramping causing him to squeeze Hotch's hand hard before looking at his brother in law as soon as the pain was gone.

"Sorry." said Spencer.

"Its OK." said Hotch as he wiped some sweat off Spencer's face, "Strauss knows that you've been given Dilaudid against your will, and she mentioned that she wants you to summit to frequent drug tests while seeing a bureau psychologist." said Hotch.

"I'm willing to submit those drug tests while cooperating with the therapist that's assigned to me since Clarissa made me promise her that I won't refuse help." said Spencer.

Hotch sighed in relief as he realized that Spencer's willing to cooperate.

"I know that if I didn't have your sister in my life, I probably wouldn't have told you that I've been drugged." said Spencer.

"I am glad that my little sister approached you that day at Yale." said Hotch.

"Me too." said Spencer.

"And I wasn't even surprised that you married my little sister two years later." said Hotch.

Spencer looked at Hotch.

"Can I tell you what happened to be before I try to get some sleep?" asked Spencer.

"Sure." said Hotch.

Spencer started recounting everything that happened to him including the flashbacks he had when he was drugged. When Spencer was finished telling his brother in law what happened to him, he was sobbing causing Hotch to pull his brother-in-law into a hug.

"I'm so sorry that I sent you right to the unsub." said Hotch.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"Don't blame yourself for sending me straight to the unsub since we didn't know that Hankel was the unsub at the time." said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "Yes, I made the mistake of splitting up with JJ, but I didn't want Hankel to get away. I know that I have a long road to recovery, but with the support of family and friends I'll be getting through this trauma." said Spencer.

"Just so you know, your on medical leave for six weeks." said Hotch.

Spencer nodded before yawning.

"Try and get some sleep because the team will be coming in here in five hours." said Hotch.

"You'll be here when I wake up?" asked Spencer as he removed his glasses and passed them to Hotch.

"Yes." said Hotch as he squeezed Spencer's hand.

A few minutes later Spencer was fast asleep in his hospital bed, and a half hour later Hotch fell asleep while still holding Spencer's hand as a reassurance that his brother in law is still alive.

xxxxxxx

Five hours later Spencer woke up to see that his brother-in-law was on the phone as he reached for the cup filled with water and took a few sips to soothe his dry throat. Hotch looked at him after he hung up.

"How are you feeling?" asked Hotch as he thought about having to comfort Spencer from a few nightmares or to assist Spencer with drug withdrawal symptoms.

"Sore but I understand that the attending doctor doesn't want to give me any pain medication because of the drugs in my system." said Spencer as he reached for his glasses and slipped them on, "Even though I was given narcotics after my appendix got removed, I know that I'm probably going to refuse narcotics for the rest of my life." said Spencer.

"And that's OK." said Hotch.

"Have your heard from Clarissa and the team?" asked Spencer.

"I just talked to Gideon and he and the others are on their way, and I received a text from Clarissa telling me that she, Lucy, and Diana are arriving in 15 minutes." said Hotch.

"I wish that Clarissa would have left Diana with Haley and Jack because Diana shouldn't see me like this." said Spencer.

"Clarissa told me that my niece threw a tantrum when she was packing her bag, so Diana's coming along with Lucy in tow so Diana doesn't have to spend all of her time here." said Hotch.

10 minutes later Spencer saw his teammates enter the room and Garcia came up to him and hugged him gently.

"How are you feeling Boy Wonder?" asked Garcia.

"Sore but I will survive." said Spencer.

Hotch looked at the others.

"All of us except Reid have been called back to Quantico because Strauss wants to have a bureau psychologist access us right away and we have case files piling up." said Hotch.

"We can't leave him alone here." protested Morgan.

"Reid has a next of kin who is arriving in a few minutes who will make decisions for him while we are back in Quantico." said Hotch.

"I thought that your parents, aunt, and uncle were dead and your godparents are in Africa?" asked Garcia before noticing Spencer's left hand causing her to gasp, "Is that a wedding band?" asked Garcia.

"Yes." said Spencer.

"I guess that your finally revealing your relationship status?" asked Gideon.

Spencer was about to speak up but ended up seeing two of his favorite people enter the room.

"DADDY!" cried a three-year-old blue eyed and curly brown haired girl who ran into the room, pulling her mother who had a visible baby bump with her while an older woman came into the room.

Everyone but Hotch and Gideon looked at Spencer in shock as the young woman lifted the little girl onto her father's bed where Diana curled right into her daddy's side.

"Hey Diana." said Spencer as he looked at Diana's tear stained face and wiped the tears with his thumb before kissing Diana's forehead, "Daddy got caught by the bad guy, but I will be fine after you and mommy take care of me for the next six weeks." soothed Spencer as he kissed his daughter's forehead again.

Diana kissed her daddy's bandaged head like her daddy does to her when she is hurt.

"All better like you do to me when I hurt, daddy." beamed Diana.

"Having you being here helps me feel better." said Spencer as he tickled his daughter's belly, causing her to giggle.

"Cause I'm a daddy's girl." beamed Diana.

"Yes you are, sweet pea." said Clarissa as she kissed her husband's forehead and nodded at her older brother who was smirking at her and Gideon who was smiling at her.

Morgan cleared his throat.

"What are you doing here, Clarissa?" asked Morgan.

"Hi Derek." said Clarissa.

"Clarissa's my wife, and this beautiful little girl is our three-year-old daughter, Diana Ethel Reid." said Spencer as he adjusted himself in bed to get more comfortable while Diana cuddled with him.

"You're married to Hotch's baby sister?" asked a shocked Morgan as he couldn't believe that Spencer already has more game than him.

"As of today Clarissa has been my wife for 1,531 days." said Spencer.

"If you two have been married to each other for over four years, how long have you two known each other?" asked Garcia as her heart melted at the sight of Spencer with his daughter making her realize that she couldn't be mad.

"Over six years." said Clarissa.

"We met on November 30th of 2000 at Yale two days after the deaths of my aunt and uncle, and if it wasn't for Clarissa I probably wouldn't have gotten over the deaths of my aunt and uncle." said Spencer as he smiled softly at his wife before introducing Clarissa to JJ, Emily, and Garcia.

"Aren't you going to introduce me, Spencer?" asked Lucy.

Spencer blushed a bit while Clarissa laughed.

"This is our live in nanny Lucy Robertson who takes care of Diana while Clarissa and I are both working." said Spencer.

JJ looked at Diana and noticed that she was wearing a t-shirt that said I'M GOING TO BE A BIG SISTER before looking at Clarissa.

"How far along are you?" asked JJ as she gestured to Clarissa's baby bump.

Spencer and Clarissa looked at each other.

"I'm 11 and a half weeks pregnant." smiled Clarissa.

Before Garcia could open her mouth, Spencer quickly spoke.

"If your going to squeal please don't since my head still hurts, and I doubt that my nurse would appreciate it." said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband as she rested her hands on her hips.

"Are you talking about me or the nurse that's assigned to you today?" asked Clarissa as she smirked at her husband.

"Knowing you, your going to insist on nursing me back to health." said Spencer.

Clarissa covered her daughter's ears.

"Damn straight I am." smirked Clarissa before pecking her husband on the lips.

"Your a nurse?" asked Garcia.

"I'm a pediatric nurse at Children's National, but I'm working my way up to becoming a pediatric nurse practitioner." said Clarissa.

"And you'll be a great nurse practitioner, Clara." said Spencer.

"Clara?" asked Emily.

"Clara Barton who was the founder of the American Red Cross was originally Clarissa Barton, so my nickname for Clarissa is Clara." said Spencer.

"Very fitting." said Emily.

Hotch looked at his sister.

"So when are you going to talk to me?" asked Hotch.

Clarissa turned towards her oldest brother.

"Thanks for giving me updates on my husband's status, Aaron." said Clarissa as she kissed her oldest brother on the cheek before hugging Gideon.

"How are you two able to be on the same team despite being brother in laws?" asked Morgan.

"We promised Strauss that we would keep our relationship as brothers in laws outside the office." said Hotch as he realized that the father and daughter were now sleeping and gently removed his niece's glasses before stroking Diana's hair, "Spencer and Diana are both asleep." said Hotch quietly.

"And when Spencer joined the BAU, I stopped showing up since we didn't want anyone to know that I'm married to my oldest brother's youngest teammate since we were worried that people would think that Spencer was placed in the BAU due to nepotism." said Clarissa as she took Diana's glasses from her brother causing her to remove her husband's glasses from the bridge of his nose.

Hotch looked at Morgan, JJ, Emily, Garcia, and Gideon.

"We have to board the jet in an hour, and I'll answer any questions you guys have during the flight home." said Hotch before looking at Clarissa, "Haley and I will pick you guys up from the airport when Spencer is ready to go home, and if you need anything please call."

"I will Aaron." said Clarissa as she hugged her older brother.

"I am fond of the man you married because you two are good for each other." said Aaron before leading his teammates away.

xxxxxxxxx

A half hour later Spencer woke up, and Clarissa looked at her husband.

"You need to be more careful, Spencer." said Clarissa as she looked at her sleeping daughter before handing her husband his glasses.

"I know." said Spencer as he allowed tears to fall down his face, "I am glad that the monster who abducted me gave me CPR because I wouldn't be here if I wasn't given CPR." whispered Spencer as he stroked his sleeping daughter's hair.

"I am proud of you for handing Aaron those vials." whispered Clarissa as she kissed her husband's forehead.

"I have too much to lose." said Spencer as he wiped a tear from Clarissa's face before kissing his sleeping daughter's head and thinking about his family growing while knowing that his parents, aunt, and uncle are proud of him since they told him themselves during his temporary death.

~The End~


	48. Sequel Now Up

The sequel The Profiler and the Nurse: Book Two is now up.


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